Scarecrow
by Razorcomic3
Summary: A Scarecrow supposedly comes to life, terrorizes a local university and kills several people. What's his motive? Read and find out! Rated T for violence, language, and scary situations.
1. The Farmer and The Scarecrow

**Scarecrow**

Written by: Razorcomic3

He always liked his job. He doesn't call it a job exactly, more like a livelihood. What he does for a living is farming; he's a farmer. This man is Jack Brown. Everybody calls him Farmer Brown. He's in his 40s, has gray hair and wearing dark blue overalls and boots. He has a knack for planting fruits, vegetables and wheat.

Whenever he plants stuff, he doesn't need to worry about any flock of birds eating his crop because he's got a scarecrow in the middle of the cornfield. One day, he walks out into his cornfield to get a closer look at his scarecrow. When he got close, he looked at it. The scarecrow itself was like any typical scarecrow but this one look darker, scarier, and more threatening. Every time someone looked at it, they always get that weird feeling that it could come to life.

"You know something?" Farmer Brown said to the scarecrow. "You're always reliable. Never in all my years of farming has a bird tried to eat my profits. I have you to thank for that." Scarecrow didn't say or do anything it just stood there. "Okay, this is crazy. I'm talking to a Scarecrow." Farmer Brown said. "I'm starting to sound like a certain friend of mine."

Suddenly he felt his overalls vibrate. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. "Hello?" he said. He paused as the caller said something. "Oh just doing my thing. What about you?" There was another pause. "Yeah, what is it?" There was yet another pause. "Okay I'll be right there soon." He hung up. "Excuse me," he said to Scarecrow. "I got to go take care of some business. Just keep doing your job! I don't pay you to just stand there! Actually I don't pay you at all and I'm proud of that." He laughed at his joke and looked up. Scarecrow was just staring at him. "Okay you're really creepy. I'm out of here." And with that he walked off to his truck. Behind him, Scarecrow just stood there, silently and waiting and just staring off into space.


	2. Thomas & his friends

On the other side of town, there was a college campus. This campus is perfect for students who want to get a good education, a head start in life and to hang out and party with friends every now and then. This campus is called Gallagher University. The students there called it G.U. for short and others called it Gallagher.

In the courtyard was one of the students. His name is Thomas Barkley; but everybody just calls him Tom. He's about 6 foot, short black hair, 21, and is friendly to everyone he meets. He was sitting in at table reading a science book, trying to study for a test he has in about 20 minutes. He was focusing on his book when he suddenly looked up and saw a female student walking towards him.

She was 5'9, long blonde hair, attractive, 20, one of the most popular girls on campus and Tom's girlfriend of 5 years. Her name is Vanessa Ramirez. Tom and Vanessa met in freshman year of high school. They were friends and several weeks later, they're going out and fell in love. "Hey handsome!" she said to Tom.

"Hey honey."

"What're you doing?"

"I'm studying for this science test in Mr. Gordon's class."

"Oh. Hey are you going to the house party later tonight? It's going to be a blast!"

"Yeah, as soon as I can get my homework done." He looked at his watch. It said 9:50 a.m. "Look, I'd love to keep talking but I got to get to Gordon's class."

"Okay. I'll see you later. I love you."

"I love you too."

They hugged and kissed and Tom ran across the courtyard to get to his class. He ran inside the building, walked several hallways and found room 159. Mr. Gordon wasn't in right now but Tom was glad because he didn't want to be counted late. Several students were at their desks talking to each other. Tom sat down at his desk and next to him was a fellow female student.

Her name is Katherine Bates. She prefers to be called Katie. She's 5'10, 22, brown hair, wears glasses, somewhat of a smart geek but several guys on campus says she's cute. She's also Tom's best friend and she has a secret crush on him. How they met was at the beginning of the year. Tom needed a tutor for science and Katie was one of the top students. She mentored him and he passed his test and they've been firm friends ever since. She developed her crush on him when they spent time together and gotten closer. Katie wanted to ask him out, but she knew Vanessa was his girlfriend. She was sad, but she still has feelings for Tom, but never told anyone.

"You're cutting it kind of close, are you?" Katie joked.

"I know, I was studying and talking to Vanessa I lost track of time." Tom replied.

"So how are you two?"

"We're going great. Why do you ask?" 

"I'm just curious because you're my best friend and I care about you."

"Aw thanks Katie. You're my best friend too."

The friendly moment was interrupted when Mr. Gordon walked into the classroom. He put his briefcase on his desk and started to pass out the tests to the students. The test began. One hour later, class was over. Katie walked to Tom right before he left.

"So what're you doing tonight?" Katie asked.

"I'm going to a house party later tonight but first I'm going to my parents' house." Tom replied.

"That sounds awesome! I'm going to the party too maybe I'll see you there?"

"Yeah! I'll see you tonight."

"Okay bye!" With that saying, they walked off in different directions. Tom was walking towards the campus football field wondering about how he did on his science test. "I hope I got a passing grade." He thought. Tom went to the bleachers and saw the football team finishing practice and one of players saw him and rushed over to him.

His name is Travis Linderman. He's 6'3, 22, muscular, handsome, and has a promising career as a linebacker. He's also Tom's other best friend and they've been friends since high school. Another thing about Travis is he's not too bright.

"How are you dude?" Travis asked.

"I'm okay." Tom said.

"So that house party is going to be the best party ever!"

"Yeah."

"Are you going to it?" 

"Not until later tonight. I got stuff to do."

"Okay I'll see you tonight, buddy?"

"Sure. See you tonight." Travis went to the locker room and Tom went to the parking lot. He found his silver car and started the engine. He left the parking lot, left the campus and drove into the city to his parents' house.


	3. Proud Parents

Tom was just driving through the city thinking about his life up to this point. As his mind started to wonder, he started to think about Vanessa. "Man, I'm just so crazy about her." He thought. He remembered what they talked about a few months back.

They were sitting on a bench in the courtyard at G.U. Once they gotten through with the small talk, Vanessa started to speak.

"Tom can I ask something really important?" she asked.

"Sure, what is it?"

"I've been thinking about us a lot lately and I'm really in love with you. Do you want to get married?"

Tom was startled. He didn't know what to say. He wanted to marry her, but he wanted to make sure everything was in order before making a decision like that. "Oh. Uh…. Uh…." Tom stammered. They've been together since their freshman year of high school and now here they are: college juniors and talking about marriage! "Do you mind if I think about it and get back to you later on that?"

"Sure. Just let me know when you've made up your mind." They hugged each other and just relaxed that day. Flash forward to the present, Tom thought about it since then and he came up with an answer. He's going to marry her and he's going to tell her at the party tonight although he doesn't know how he could afford a ring for her, but he'll cross that road when the time comes.

Tom was driving through the city passing by various buildings and business. While he was driving down the main road, he saw a gas station saying $3.00 a gallon. "Man, I remember when I was little, gas used to be cheaper." He said to himself.

Tom drove just through the city and turned to a nice, calm, suburban neighborhood. He always liked this neighborhood. It's clean and the neighbors were friendly. He knew this is why his parents lived here. He turned into the driveway of one of the houses, got out and rang the doorbell. He waited a while but then, an older woman opened the door.

She was in her mid 40s, had aging hair, and had an outgoing loving nature despite her age. This woman is Melissa Barkley; Tom's mother. They stood at the doorway for a moment and then they hugged.

"Hey mom!" Tom said.

"Hello Tom! It's always so nice to you." Melissa replied. "Come on in. Don't just stand there." They walked in and Melissa closed the door. They sat down on the sofa in the living room and began to talk.

"So how are you?" Melissa asked.

"I'm fine." Tom replied. "I want to talk to you about something, but I want Dad to hear this too. Where is he?"

"He's at the station. He should be back any minute. What did you want to talk about?"

"First I want to know what's going on in your life. How are you?"

"Well, I retired from teaching 1st graders about a week ago. I liked the job, but I felt it was time to go and I wanted to spend more time with your father."

"Oh well regardless, it's good to have you home, Mom."

"Thanks Tom."

As they gave another hug, they heard the front door open and closed. An older man walked to the living room. He was 6'1, hair a little bit black and gray, and even though he's in his mid to late 40s, he looked and sounded healthy. His name is John Barkley; Tom's father.

"What's going on in here?" he wondered. He then saw Tom. "Hey son! Give your old man a hug." Tom and his father hugged.

"Hello Dad. How was work?" Tom asked.

"It was tough, being a police captain isn't a walk in the park. You've got to make sure your officers are ready and willing to protect and serve. Also you got to make sure you stay in shape. Sometimes it's too much to bear. I've been thinking about retiring just like your mother, but I just can't yet. This city needs me and I'll do anything to protect the people."

Tom looked on with admiration. He always looked up to his father ever since he was little. He thought he was a true hero. Other times Tom wondered exactly how far would his father go to keep his word, but he'll never ask.

"Well, now that we're both here, what is it that you wanted to tell us, Tom?" asked Melissa.

"Well, it's about Vanessa," began Tom. "I was thinking about asking her to marry me."

Both his parents looked at him, then each other, and then back at him. "Tell me you do have a plan for this, right?" asked John.

"Yes," Tom replied. "I told Vanessa I would think about it and I'll get back to her later on it."

"When did this happen?" Melissa asked.

"About 3 months ago. She pulled me aside and told me she wants to marry me."

"And what about a job? You need to have a very good one if you're going to get her a ring let alone spend the rest of your life her, you know that right?" John said.

"I know Dad. I'm going to tell her that I want to wait until our lives are great before we get married. I just want to know when that times comes do I have both your full support and blessings?"

John and Melissa looked at their son. They're proud of him that he made the decision to wait. Not a lot of people, let alone teenagers, could wait, they would just jump into marriage and not even think about the risks and consequences. They're glad that he used his brain.

"Yes. You have my full support and blessing." Melissa replied.

"Mine too." John added. They both smiled.

"Thanks guys!" Tom said. And he gave his parents a group hug. "Well I just thought I'd tell you guys that and wanted to spend some time with you. But I should get going." It's almost 4:00 p.m.

"Okay. But don't be a stranger! Come back and visit anytime." John advised.

"We love you, Tom." Melissa said.

"I love you both too."

Tom walked out the living room, went to his car and started the engine. He saw his parents standing on the porch, smiling and waving at him. Tom waved back and started to look behind him as he backed out of the driveway. He left the neighborhood and was on his way back to G.U. for the party when he saw Farmer Brown's house. He got some time to kill so he pulled up to his driveway and got out. He knocked on the door and Farmer Brown opened the door.

"Well hey there, Tom!" he said. "How's my good buddy doing?"

"I'm doing good." Tom replied. "I was on my way back to the university when I saw your house so I thought I'd visit for a few minutes."

"Well you can come on in, but you can't stay too long anyway because I'm going to head out to the store soon."

"Okay. Since you're going to be going soon, Can I talk to your Scarecrow in your cornfield?"

"I honestly don't know why you talk to that thing out there. He don't talk or sing or dance or anything!"

"Yeah I know, but at least he's a good listener!"

"Okay, I'll let you know when it's time to go."

Tom walked out into the cornfield and saw Scarecrow just standing there on his perch. Back when Tom was little, he used to come over to the Scarecrow and always talked to him about what's on his mind. Whether it was something serious, funny, personal, or sad he would always listen.

"Okay, this is big." he said. "Vanessa wants to marry me and I don't know if I could be the husband she wants me to be." He looked up at Scarecrow. He just stood there. "I want to marry her but just not right now. I want to wait a few years or so. I think it's the right thing to do."

"Tom!" Farmer Brown yelled. "It's time to move out!"

"Okay!" he yelled back. He turned to Scarecrow. "Well I got to go. As always, thanks for listening." As he turned and walked away, he thought he heard something.

"_Tom…"_

He turned back and looked around. Nobody was around except the Scarecrow. He took a closer look at it. Was it his imagination or did it just say his name?

"Nah." Tom said out loud. "It's just my imagination running wild again." He turned around and walked to his car and left. Back at the cornfield, Scarecrow just stood on his perch, looking more intimidating than ever.


	4. The Cellar

The sun was getting ready to set over the horizon as Tom was driving back to Gallagher. He had a great time talking to his parents and he was extremely grateful that they would give their blessings when he would marry Vanessa. He also had a good time visiting Farmer Brown despite he couldn't stay long.

But the one thing he couldn't get out of his mind was the Scarecrow. Tom was talking to it about the marriage situation and after he explained it, he could've sworn it said his name. Did that really happen? Was it all in his head?

But he just shrugged it off. Right now Tom's got other things to worry about like the party back at the university. He found the entryway road leading it to Gallagher and drove down it. He found a parking spot, turned off his engine, got out and started to walk.

As Tom was walking, he remembered where the party was being held. The party was taking place at The Cellar. The Cellar is located on the other side of the university. It's a place where people and students alike can hang out, watch movies, play video games and have parties. So long as whatever happens there doesn't violate the rules (like smoking, drinking or doing anything illegal) campus security and the head Dean usually wouldn't mind.

Tom could see The Cellar just ahead of him. But before he went in, he noticed his science teacher, Mr. Gordon, walking to his car. Tom walked over to him.

"Hello Mr. Gordon." Tom greeted.

"Hello Tom." Gordon acknowledged.

"I know you probably didn't get to it, but how did I do on my science test today?"

"Well I did grade your test. You got a B minus."

"B minus? All right! Thanks!"

"You don't have to thank me, Tom. You're one of my best students. You earned that grade by studying. Look, I'd love to keep talking, but I'm late for dinner. I'll see you in class."

"Okay see you." Gordon walked to his car and drove off. Tom watched his car leave. He passed his test and now he can really enjoy his night. He walked up to the entrance to The Cellar and opened the door. He went down several flights of stairs and he saw the heart and soul of The Cellar.

It's an underground party palace. Where there's a movie gallery with a large TV on the left, a video game gallery with a large TV on the right. In the middle of the room, there's a large dance floor with smooth, colored tiles and just in the front of the room was a DJ booth. Everybody was already there and having a blast.

Tom walked out to the dance floor when a couple of people spotted him. It was Travis and Vanessa. They were just dancing together when they saw Tom. They walked over to him.

"Hey buddy!" Travis shouted over the loud music.

"Hello!" Tom shouted back.

"Hey you're just in time! I'm going to tell people about the winning touchdown I scored at the championship game a while back! Do you want to join us?"

"Not right now! I'm going to dance!"

"Okay! See you later!" Travis left with a group of people and Vanessa was about to leave when Tom stopped her.

"Hey can I talk to you?" Tom yelled over the music.

"Not right now, I'm going to hear Travis' story. But we'll talk later okay?" Vanessa yelled back. With that saying, she walked off leaving Tom a little disappointed. The music suddenly stopped and the DJ spoke into the mike.

"All right!" he said into the microphone. "Now, we're going to do a little something competitive right now. We're going to have a break dancing contest! Do we have any playas?" Someone walked into the middle of the dance floor.

"I'm down with this!" he declared. Tom recognized him from his math class. His name is Daniel but Tom doesn't know his last name. Everybody clapped and cheered. "Okay, we have somebody but we at least one more person. Who's it going to be?" the DJ called out.

Tom looked around. A few people were looking at him, encouraging him to challenge Daniel. "Right over here!" Tom announced. Everybody cheered. Tom and Daniel walked over to the DJ booth and said their names. "Okay ladies and gentlemen, it's Tom vs. Daniel in a break dance showdown! The DJ said. "Here's the rules: You each get one minute of music to do any kind of dance you want. After you both danced, the audience will decide the winner. Are you two ready to do this?"

"I'm pumped!" Daniel said.

"Let's rock and roll!" Tom said.

Daniel wanted to go first and the DJ allowed it. He gave Daniel his music and the showdown began. Daniel started to move uncontrollably and started to move his arms and legs in a smooth, wavelike motion. The crowd observed and they were impressed. His minute was almost up so for his finishing move, he got on the floor, spun around and did a backwards somersault and landed on his feet. The crowd applauded and cheered.

It was now Tom's turn and the DJ gave him his music and the minute began. He didn't know exactly what to do so he just went with it. "Go with the flow." He thought. Tom started to do the moon walk around the circle and then he started to a spider-like twist and spin on the floor in the middle of the circle. The crowd went wild and started to chant his name. For his finishing move, he spun on the floor, but when he stopped he did a model pose and winked to the crowd. The crowd cheered and applauded.

The DJ started to speak. "All right! So who's our winner?" He pointed to Daniel. The crowd cheered. Then he pointed to Tom and the crowd went ballistic! Some people even whistled! "Well the people have spoken. The winner is Tom!" The crowd started roaring and also started to chant Tom's name. Tom was excited to have won but Daniel was getting jealous. Regardless, he still congratulated Tom.

Afterwards, Tom went to the concession stand and drank a few sodas. While he was drinking, someone else came over. It was Katie.

"Hey, Mr. Break Dancing king!" she said with a congratulating tone even though her words were sarcastic.

"You saw me dance?" Tom asked.

"Duh! I was in the general direction where you stopped and winked at the crowd. I liked that part."

"Well I'm glad you liked it."

The DJ was on the microphone again. "Now we're going to slow it down a little bit so you guys can relax a little bit." A slow song began to play.

"Would you like to dance as friends?" Katie asked.

"Sure why not." Tom replied. They walked towards the dance floor and began to dance. Katie had her arms around his neck and Tom had his hands on her waist. He wanted to dance with Vanessa, but she wasn't around and she was listening to Travis' story. Nevertheless, there would be other slow songs before the night was over. Katie looked at him and smiled and Tom smiled back. Even though he's Vanessa's boyfriend, he still enjoyed dancing with his best friend and Katie was enjoying this time with him.

Meanwhile in another part of The Cellar, Travis was telling his story. "And then I caught the ball, ran towards the goalpost, ran over my opponents and scored the winning touchdown!" Travis concluded. All the ladies whooped. Vanessa was deeply impressed and was very fascinated. And then something happened. She looked at his face, his muscles and thought about him on the gridiron. She started to become attracted to him.


	5. The Bombshell

The next morning, the party at The Cellar was all everybody could talk about all over the university. Tom had a wonderful time at the party. He saw his friends, won a break dancing contest and danced with Katie. What also happened last night was after Katie and Tom danced, he went to find Vanessa to tell her that he wanted to dance with her and marry her. When they were slow dancing to another song, Tom noticed Vanessa was being distracted. She said it was nothing and just wanted to dance and so they did.

Before Tom went off to his math class, he tried to find Vanessa to tell her about his decision, but she wasn't anywhere to be found. "I wonder where she could be?" he wondered out loud to himself. He had 15 minutes before he had to go to class so he walked over to her dorm. He found her room number 263 and knocked on her door. Her roommate answered and opened the door. Her name is Amber. She's one of many popular girls on campus and she's on the swim team. Whenever she's not at her dorm, she's in the campus' indoor pool doing laps.

"Hello Amber. Have you seen Vanessa around?" Tom asked.

"She left about an hour ago." Amber replied. "She didn't say where she was going so I thought she was going to meet up with you."

"Well if you see her, could you tell I was looking for her?"

"I will Tom. I'll see you later." Amber then closed the door. Tom stood at the door for about a minute and then he walked off. He wondered where she could've gone. He got out his cell phone and started to dial her cell number. The phone rang a few times and Tom was hoping she'd pick up, but then his hopes were dashed when it went to voicemail. 'Hey this is Vanessa I can't get to my cell but leave your name, number and a message I promise I'll call you back.'

Tom began his message. "Hey honey, it's me. I just want to talk to you about something important. Where are you? Are you in class or something? Just call me back when you get this okay? I love you, bye." He hung up. Tom was puzzled. Vanessa almost always answers her cell. He decided he would try to find her. He looked at his watch it's almost time for his math class to start. He'll look for her after class.

Tom raced over towards the building where his class was. He went inside, went up to the second floor and found room 256. His teacher Mrs. Crenshaw was already there but didn't count him late because class hasn't officially started. Tom walked to his desk he saw Daniel a few desks behind him. He still hasn't gotten over that Tom beat him in that break dancing contest last night.

"I'm telling you, I should've won!" Daniel said to Tom.

"How many times am I going to hear this?" Tom groaned.

"A lot of times! I'm really good at this sport! How could I have lost?"

"The audience had already spoken. End of story."

The bell rang and class began. Mrs. Crenshaw stated that the class is going to do some math work and complete a quiz. An hour later, class was over. "Don't forget to review!" Mrs. Crenshaw said to the class as they were leaving. Tom left his class and started to look for Vanessa. He searched all over the campus until he thought of the place he didn't check: the cafeteria.

Tom went to the cafeteria and found Vanessa talking to some of her friends. He walked over to them. They saw him and they said something quietly to Vanessa and left the cafeteria. Tom approached Vanessa, sat down and they began to talk.

"Hey," Tom began. "I've tried calling you. Where have you been?"

"Just around." Vanessa replied. Something seemed wrong and Tom knew it. He wanted to find out what.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm not so sure about this."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm talking about us."

Tom started to look sad. "Are you breaking up with me?"

"Yes, I am. This isn't easy for me either as you can tell."

"But why?" Tom was on the verge of tears.

"It's just that…" Vanessa paused and then continued. "I'm having too much trouble with schoolwork and having a boyfriend isn't working."

"You haven't had this trouble before."

"I didn't have as much as of right now. I'm sorry and maybe when we graduate we can try again."

"Yeah, fine." Tom just looked away from her. Vanessa looked at him for a minute and then left the cafeteria. Tom looked back at the spot where she sat and then he himself left. He didn't feel like staying at Gallagher right now. He started to walk outside to the parking lot towards his car when Katie saw him walking sad and slouching. She walked over to him.

"Hey Tom," Katie said. "What's wrong?"

"Vanessa broke up with me." As he said that, a tear rolled down his cheek.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Do you want a hug?" Katie offered.

They hugged for a few seconds and then Tom pulled away. "Look I appreciate you comforting me, but I'm going to my parents' house to talk to them." Tom said.

"Okay you can call my cell anytime you want to talk." Katie reminded him.

"You got it." Tom gave a tiny smile and walked to his car. He got in, started the engine and drove away. Katie stood still until his car was out of sight. She has mixed feelings on what just happen. She always had feelings for Tom ever since she first met him and now that he's single, she really wanted to be his girlfriend. On the other hand, she knows he's really hurt right now and doesn't want to date anyone right now. Katie respected Tom so she made a vow to herself that she would always wait for him.

Tom was driving through the city crying softly. He was going to tell Vanessa that he was willing to marry her but instead she dropped the bombshell and ruined the moment. He turned on the radio and at that moment, the song "Love Hurts" by Nazareth starting playing. Now Tom felt even worse and started to break down. He arrived at his parents' house. He didn't want to look bad in front of them so he dried his tears and tried to smile. After that he rang the doorbell.

The door swung open and Melissa stood at the door. "Hello Tom." She said.

"Hey Mom." Tom replied a little unhappy.

"What's wrong honey?"

"Can we talk in private?"

"Sure. Come in." Tom walked in and Melissa closed the door behind them. As they walked past the living room, he saw his father, John talking to a fellow officer. His name is Officer Stephens. He's John's best friend and partner in the police force. He has brown hair, 6 foot and is fiercely loyal to Capt. Barkley. Rumor has it that Stephens could be next in line for the role of Police Capt. John saw Tom walk by and acknowledged him.

"Hey buddy. How are you?" John wondered.

"Just fine." Tom mumbled.

"You remember Officer Stephens?"

Tom walked over and shook his hand. "Good to see you again, sir."

"The pleasure's all mine." Stephens said.

"Please excuse me guys, Mom and I are going to talk."

"Okay, see you later." John said.

Tom and Melissa went upstairs to the bedroom and sat down on the bed.

"Now what's the matter?" Melissa asked.

Tom stated crying again. "Vanessa broke up with me."

Melissa was deeply shocked. "I'm so sorry. Did you tell her that you wanted to wait to get married?"

"I was going to tell her, but she broke up with me before I could."

Melissa started to shed a tear for her son. They both looked at each other and then they hugged. Tom thought it felt so good to be in his mother's loving and welcoming arms. He just sat there hugging and crying for the next few hours and then he started to get up.

"Thanks for the comfort Mom I should be getting back to Gallagher."

"Okay. Please come back anytime when you're feeling down. I'm always here for you."

"I will."

They gave each other another comforting hug and Tom started to leave. He said goodbye to his father and Stephens before he left. He got outside, started the engine and drove off. He didn't want to feel miserable so he started to listen to one of his favorite CDs in his car. It made him feel a little better. The sun was setting and it was nighttime. In no time, Tom reached the entrance to G.U. and found a parking spot. He turned off his car, got out and started to walk towards his dorm.

Vanessa was walking along the campus with someone really close together. She started talking to him about how she was attracted to him and hinting that she wanted to go out with him. But the guy was dense, so dense in fact, he doesn't even realize she was hitting on him. Vanessa just started to ask him.

"Will you go out with me?" Vanessa asked, plain and simple.

The guy she was talking to was Travis Linderman. "Oh, uh…yeah sure." He replied.

"Awesome." Vanessa replied and she kissed him on the lips and he kissed back and to them it felt great. They were so wrapped up in the moment that another person was watching them. He was looking at them with hate, anger, sadness, jealously, and an extra mix of insanity. The name of this person watching them was Thomas Barkley.


	6. Tom's Insanity

Tom couldn't believe his eyes. In fact, he refused to believe his eyes. While he walking towards his dorm, he saw his ex-girlfriend Vanessa kissing his soon to be ex-best friend Travis. "I can't believe this!" Tom thought to himself. "She dumped me for that football playing idiot!" He was far away to not be noticed by them, but not so far away to see what they're doing. He wanted to do something horribly bad to the both of them but decided against it. He just gave them an angry glare at them and continued walking to his dorm.

Tom reached his dorm building in about 10 minutes. He noticed some of his dorm mates and some of them said hi to him but he just ignored them and just continued walking down the hall. He found his dorm room number 432, unlocked the door and went inside. He looked around his room. Nobody was his roommate; he had it all to himself. When he found out this at the beginning of the year, he felt a little bit lonely. No one to talk to or hang out with, but as of right now, he was glad he was by himself. Tom just plopped onto his bed and stared angrily at the ceiling. "Those back stabbers!" he said to himself. "They'll be hearing of me in the morning." With that saying, he got ready for bed. He changed into his pajamas, got into bed and went to sleep.

As Tom was sleeping, he started to have a nightmare. He was just sitting at the courtyard minding his own business when Travis and Vanessa came into view. They sat down near his table and started to make out right in front of him!

"Why are you doing this!" Tom yelled.

"Because Travis is everything you're not." Vanessa replied. "He's strong, looks like a man and he's the star linebacker."

"That's right, 'buddy' " Travis remarked. And then, they started to laugh and hold each other lovingly as Tom started to scream.

Suddenly Tom jolted upright in his bed. He panted and looked around. Then he looked at his clock on the nightstand. It was 2 in the morning. He got out of bed and walked to his bathroom. He splashed some cold water on his face and then he looked in the mirror. He just stood there staring at his reflection. And then for a split second, he saw Farmer Brown's Scarecrow staring at him in the reflection! Tom gasped and rubbed his eyes. He looked at the mirror again. Scarecrow wasn't staring at him through the mirror anymore, just Tom's reflection again. "Okay that was strange." Tom said to himself. Was Scarecrow really there? He did a quick look around his whole room. Nobody was in there with him. Tom yawned and then he went back to sleep in his bed.

The next morning, Tom woke up and was getting ready for the day. He looked at his clock. It was 9 a.m. He went to his bathroom and brushed his teeth. He tried to resist it, but he looked at the mirror. He still saw his own reflection. "No," he said. "That didn't really happen. Scarecrow is at the cornfield." He remembered what today was. It was Tuesday and he didn't have any classes today and he was really glad about that. He got dressed and started to leave his dorm room. All Tom wanted to do for today was relax. Maybe go to the movies or something.

As Tom was walking, he heard someone call his name. He turned around and saw Travis. Usually when Travis calls to him, Tom would be happy, but not now and maybe not ever again.

"What's up dude?" Travis asked, trying to make some conversation.

"Go away." Tom said to him in a cold tone.

"What?"

"You heard me."

"What's wrong, buddy?"

"I'm not your buddy." As Tom said this he got angry.

"What's the matter?" Travis was startled by Tom's behavior towards him. He never acts like this to him or anyone else before.

"You are! Mr. Big Shot Football Star!"

"What are you talking about?"

"I saw you and Vanessa walking close, holding hands, and then making out! My Vanessa! My girlfriend!"

"She told me she wasn't dating anyone."

"Why did you kiss her!" Tom's blood began to boil.

"Well she's a good kisser, you know…"

"Oh, shut the hell up!" As Tom yelled that, Travis froze in his spot. He hardly heard Tom cuss before even when he was mad. "You just stay away from me! Our friendship is terminated! From here on out, we're no longer friends and you stay the hell away from me! You got that?" Travis just stood there in frozen fear as Tom gave him a deathly stare. Tom just turned around and stormed off. "I'll make him pay for this." Tom thought.

Tom was walking through and around the campus getting some exercise and enjoying the fresh air he can't help thinking about what he said to Travis. He was his best friend but a true friend wouldn't just go for a girl he knew his buddy likes or had just broken up with. And because of what Travis did, he's no longer in Tom's circle. As Tom was walking, he saw Vanessa leaning on a brick wall, staring off into space. "I bet she's thinking about Travis." Tom thought bitterly to himself. As he walked by, Vanessa said hi to him. Tom just walked by like she didn't exist. She was puzzled so she ran after him.

"Wait a minute Tom!" she panted. Tom wanted to sprint out of there but he wanted to tell her off like he did to Travis so he waited for her. When Vanessa caught up to him, she noticed Tom giving her the meanest stare he had ever given her. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Like you don't know." was Tom's reply.

"Are you still mad about us breaking up?"

"In a way."

"Look, I'm sorry about that. But it was needed. I need to focus on schoolwork and I…"

Tom angrily cut her off. "You can cut the schoolwork bull crap, okay? I know the real reason you broke up with me. You left me for Travis."

"What are you talking about?"

"You left me for Travis! I saw you two holding hands, hugging and kissing last night!"

"You saw that?"

"Yeah. How did you think it made me feel?"

"I don't know what to say."

"Okay let me do all the talking." Tom said calmly. And then he began to yell. "You back stabbing little bitch! How could you do this to me?" Tom looked at her squarely in the eyes. "And to think I wanted to marry you."

"You did?" Vanessa was shocked at this.

"Yes I had an answer for you. I wanted to marry you, but all that flew out the window when you dumped me for that all weight and no brain jock! You just stay away from me Vanessa. I hate you and Travis both!" Tom started to have that feeling of déjà vu when he gave Vanessa the same deathly stare he gave Travis earlier. And then after the statement and stare, Tom stormed off. "I'll make them both pay." he thought angrily to himself.

For the next week, Tom had to endure all the gossip and talk all over Gallagher University. Everybody was talking about how Travis and Vanessa were a really cute couple. While he was in math class, Daniel came up to him and started to talk to him. Even though Tom didn't reply back, Daniel did all the talking.

"Okay Tom," he began. "I know you're probably hurt but…" he started to break out in a singsong voice. "Vanessa's going out with Travis and you got nobody!" he started laughing. "And in case you couldn't tell, I'm getting you back for upstaging me at that break dancing contest! Consider us even."

With that Daniel went to his seat while Tom just sat at his desk staring angrily into space. While Tom was walking through the hallways, he past the yearbook room and saw the leader of the yearbook committee talking about their future yearbook. The guy's name is Edward and he was talking to his group.

"Okay," Edward began. "For this part of the yearbook, I'm thinking about putting "Cutest couple" right in the middle of this page. The couple's names are Vanessa Ramirez and Travis Linderman." Everyone agreed and started writing notes. Tom glared at Edward and continued walking. Tom reached the library and saw a familiar face. It was Amber, Vanessa's roommate. And she was talking to a few of her friends.

"Wow, I can't believe Vanessa's going out with Travis Linderman." Amber said to her friends. "I mean he's strong, handsome and on the football team!" The friends nodded and left the library. Tom couldn't take it anymore. He didn't have any classes today so he got up and went to his car. He started the engine and peeled out of the university. He drove through the city and went to Farmer Brown's house. Farmer Brown wasn't home but Tom didn't care. He parked his car a few houses away and walked towards Scarecrow in the cornfield. He started to talk to it.

"Why?" he yelled. "Why did this happen to me? Everybody is rubbing it in my face that Vanessa left me and going out with my ex-best friend and I'm not going to take it anymore!"

"_Tom, it's okay. I'm here for you."_

Tom looked around. Once again nobody was around except Scarecrow. He looked up to it. Was it really talking to him? Or was it his imagination? Either way, he didn't care as long as someone was listening. "What should I do?" he asked.

"_Take me with you. I want to help you."_

Tom didn't give it a second thought. He took Scarecrow off his perch and to him to his car. Nobody was out and about because it was pretty much nighttime. Tom put Scarecrow into his car and drove back to Gallagher. Tom found a parking spot and got out. To avoid suspicion, he stuffed Scarecrow into a trash bag and walked towards his dorm. As he was walking, people noticed his bag. He told them it was laundry. When Tom got back to his room, he took Scarecrow out. "What should we do?" Tom asked.

"_We can take revenge on this whole stupid university. Make them all pay and then we go for the ultimate prize!"_

"Travis and Vanessa." Tom started to smile.

"_Bingo. She dumped you for him. We'll make them both pay, but first we must become one."_

"Yes." Tom took Scarecrow into his bathroom and the transformation began. Tom took the socks from Scarecrow's feet to his own, then, he put on the pants, and then the long sleeved shirt, the gloves. Now he was left holding the final part: the mask.

"_It's time, Tom."_

Tom put on the mask and opened his eyes and saw himself in the mirror. And as a bonus, he's going to disguise his voice to mimic Scarecrow's. A deep, scary, voice. "Thomas Barkley is gone." he said to his own reflection in full costume. "Now we're…._Scarecrow."_ As he said that, he began to laugh demently.


	7. The 1st victim

The next morning, Farmer Brown woke up. He got out of bed, went to take a shower, put on some clothes and walked to his backyard. When he got out there, he looked at his cornfield and saw that his scarecrow's gone! "What the…?" Farmer Brown said in a surprising tone. "It's gone!" He ran back inside his house and called the police.

Back at Gallagher, Vanessa woke up and was getting ready to start her day. She got out of bed, went to take a shower and after that, she began to brush her hair. While she was doing that, her cell phone began to ring. She answered it.

"Hello?" Vanessa answered.

"Hey Vanessa." It was Travis.

"Hello Travis. What're you doing up this early?"

"I'm on the football field. The Coach wanted all of us for early practice. He's not here yet so I wanted to talk to you."

"Are you doing anything later tonight?"

"No."

"Do you want to hang out, just the two of us?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay, I'll see you tonight. I love you."

"I love you too."

They both hung up and Vanessa just sat down with a grin on her face. As she was lying on her bed, she started thinking about Tom. He yelled at her and gave her a death stare. Maybe if she was honest with him, he would've been a little bit mean. She hoped all of this would blow over soon. Vanessa got up and put on some clothes. She noticed Amber wasn't in the room. Vanessa thought she's at the pool. Regardless, she got up and went to the cafeteria for breakfast.

Back at the cornfield, Farmer Brown called the police. The people that responded were Capt. Barkley and Officer Stephens. The three men stood around Scarecrow's perch talking to each other.

"How did this happen exactly?" Stephens wondered.

"Maybe it came to life!" Farmer Brown suggested.

"What? That is the stupidest idea I've ever heard!" Capt. Barkley remarked.

"Have you guys ever seen this Scarecrow?" Farmer Brown asked.

"No we haven't." the officers admitted.

"Well this particular Scarecrow is creepy looking if not scary. People that walked by always said it could come to life!"

"Okay then." Capt. Barkley said. "Thanks Farmer Brown, we'll be in touch." With that reassurance, Capt. Barkley and Stephens turned and walked towards the police cruiser.

"I just don't get it sir." Stephens said. "A Scarecrow winds up missing or stolen but the question is: who stole it and why?"

"I don't know Stephens." Capt. Barkley replied. "But we're going to find out. Let's ponder this down at the station." They got into the car and drove away.

Back at the university, Vanessa was in the cafeteria talking to her friends. Among the group of friends was her roommate Amber. They're all talking about how Travis is so handsome and muscular and how Vanessa is lucky to be going out with him. After a few minutes of talking, the majority of the group had to go to class. Vanessa and Amber were still in the cafeteria.

"So how's Tom taking you not being his girlfriend anymore?" Amber wondered.

"He's not handling it well. He yelled at me and gave me a death stare. It was like he was a different person."

"Well I'm sure he'll get over it in time. At least you're dating Travis Linderman. Do you know how many girls would kill to be you? He's the big man on campus!"

"Yeah I know." Vanessa started to smile dreamily.

"Exactly." Amber looked at her watch. "I'm going to go to the pool and do some laps." She began to leave.

"Make sure you wait at least an hour!" Vanessa called to her as she left. Vanessa got up and started to leave the cafeteria. As she was walking, someone was walking behind her trying to catch up with her. It was Katie and she was sitting near Vanessa's table and she heard everything. Katie stopped Vanessa from walking and gave an angry stare.

"Is it true? Did you break up with Tom for Travis?" Katie demanded.

"It's none of your business!" Vanessa retorted.

"Whatever concerns my friend, concerns me."

"If you're so 'concerned' about him, why don't you date him?" Vanessa didn't even bother to wait for Katie's reply; she just left immediately. Vanessa is one of the most popular girls on campus, dating the most successful football player and she was being talked down to by a geek. Not on her watch. Katie watched her walk away.

"What a bitch." Katie muttered. She was wondering if Tom knew the truth behind their breakup. She got out her cell phone and dialed Tom's number. She didn't get an answer but she left a short message. After Katie hung up, she became mad. Not at Tom but at Vanessa. Tom was the nicest, funniest, and a sweet guy and Vanessa should be glad that somebody cares for her; but she was too blind to see that and left him for somebody else. Katie's desire to be Tom's girlfriend became stronger. And if that doesn't happen, she'll always be there for him no matter what happens between them.

Throughout the entire day, nobody has seen or heard of Tom. Some say he left the university. Others say he just stayed in his dorm. Most of his friends stopped by his dorm to check on him, but he didn't answer the door. It was nighttime and things began to get quiet around the university. On his way back to his dorm, Daniel was walking and was thinking about Tom's disappearance. "Maybe I shouldn't have rubbed Vanessa dumping him in his face." Daniel said to himself. "But he shouldn't have won the contest! It's not my fault Vanessa left him and..."

"_Daniel…"_

Daniel stopped and looked around. Nobody was around. Of course it was dark and he couldn't see that well in the dark. He started to walk a little bit faster and he began to sweat a little bit. As he walking he heard his name being called again; but this time, a little closer.

"_Daniel…"_

He started to become scared. As he was running, he suddenly fell to the ground. Daniel fell flat on his stomach. He turned over and saw who tripped him. It was a Scarecrow. 6 foot, scary and had a threating quality about him.

"What the hell are you?" Daniel asked.

"_Well, I'm a friendly Scarecrow of course." _It said in its deep ominous voice.

"You are so dead." Daniel quickly got up and charged at Scarecrow, but when Daniel got close, Scarecrow grabbed a knife from his back and jabbed Daniel in the stomach. He tried to scream but the knife blew all the wind out of him. He fell down to the ground and became a little dizzy. Scarecrow walked towards him and Daniel tried to run but he was a little sluggish. Scarecrow grabbed Daniel and Daniel held on to Scarecrow's shirt and punched him in the stomach and then in the face. Scarecrow faltered and Daniel tried to run again. He got further and then he suddenly fell to the ground. He fell stomach down with a knife stabbed deep in his spine. While Daniel was running, Scarecrow grabbed his knife and threw it at his retreating back. Scarecrow walked over to the fallen Daniel, pulled the knife out of his back with no mercy and kicked him so he was facing towards him.

"_I know this is a bad time to say this but…" _then Scarecrow started to say in a singsong voice: _"I got you in the back and you're going to die!"_

As Daniel heard that, he knew right away who his attacker was. But before he could do anything, Scarecrow stabbed him numerous times in the chest area. Blood spattered on Daniel's clothes. Daniel tried to defend himself but it was hopeless. He laid back as his eyes rolled back into his head and he was still. Scarecrow looked at Daniel's dead body and smiled. He was the 1st victim but definitely not the last. With that thought, Scarecrow disappeared into the woods surrounding the university and as he ran away, he laughed softly but creepy.


	8. The Aftermath

There's never a dull moment at the police station. Officers were always running in and out, talking on the phones or each other. In the back of the station was Capt. Barkley's office. He sat at his desk looking at his forms and staring at his photograph of himself, his wife Melissa and his son, Tom. He wanted to spend more time with his family, but he took an oath to serve and protect his town. Suddenly there was a knock on his door.

"Come in." he said. Stephens walked in and he looked like he was afraid to relay the news, but he still pressed on.

"Sir, we got a problem." Stephens stated.

"What is it?"

"There's been a murder at Gallagher University. Somebody reported that a student has been killed."

Knowing that his son goes to Gallagher, Capt. Barkley didn't waste any time at all. He got up, ran out his office door, told one of the officers to hold all his calls. He told Stephens to come with him. They went outside and got inside a police car. Stephens was behind the wheel and the captain was riding shotgun. As they peeled out of the parking lot, Stephens turned on the sirens. Many motorists ahead of them heard the sirens and they immediately pulled over. While they were driving, Capt. Barkley turned to Stephens.

"Did they say who the victim was?" he asked.

"No, I couldn't get a name but we should find out when we get there." Stephens replied. Capt. Barkley groaned quietly. He then started to pray hoping that Tom was alive and well.

What Capt. Barkley didn't know at the time is that his son is alive. Tom was sound asleep in his room. He got up thinking about what he did last night. He couldn't remember but it'll come to him later. He got out of bed almost tripping over a small suitcase. Tom picked it up and looked at it. It was a small black suitcase perfect of a full outfit to place inside. He put it under his bed. Tom got dressed and went outside his dorm. When he got into the main hall, he saw a lot of people outside. He wondered what all the commotion was about so he went outside too.

When Tom got outside, he couldn't believe his eyes. There were a lot of people outside. He thought the whole campus was in the area. He also saw several police cars, an ambulance, and a TV news van. While was walking and wondering what was going on, he saw a familiar face. It was Katie. Tom walked over to her.

"Katie, what's going on?" Tom asked.

"It was horrible, Tom!" Katie replied. "Daniel Kolley was killed last night!"

"What? What happened to him?"

"He was stabbed several times in the torso and once in his back."

"I can't believe this." Then Tom looked at her. "Daniel's last name was Kolley?" Katie stared at him. "What? He was in my math class and I never knew his last name!" Several yards away, another police car appeared. It stopped and the people got out. Capt. Barkley and Stephens got out and went towards the crime scene. As they were walking, the Head Dean of Gallagher greeted them.

"Thanks so much for coming." he said.

"I want to see the body." Capt. Barkley demanded. The Dean led him to the body bag covered in tarp. He unwrap it and to the captain's surprise of relief, it wasn't his son.

"His name was Daniel Kolley. Age 22, stabbed in the stomach and chest." The Dean stated.

"When was the body discovered?" Capt. Barkley asked.

"Early this morning. I was walking about with a few security guards when I saw him lying down on the ground nearby. At first I thought he was sleeping, but a closer look revealed he was murdered. One of the guards called the police and the rest you know."

After Capt. Barkley and Stephens finished looking at the body, several paramedics came and carried the body bag to a waiting ambulance. They loaded it inside, got inside and drove to the morgue. John Barkley wanted to find Tom so he left Stephens and walked toward the crowd of students. Most of the students began to walk away and before long, he found his son.

"Tom!" John shouted. He ran toward him and gave him an emotional hug. Tom hugged his father back.

"And good morning to you too, Dad." Tom replied a little confused.

"I'm sorry about getting too emotional, but I got a call saying a student here was murdered and I thought it was you."

"Well I'm okay Dad really."

They let go of each other and John looked at Katie. "Who's this young lady?"

"Let me introduce you. This is my best friend, Katie Bates." He turned to Katie. "Katie, this is my father, Capt. John Barkley." John and Katie looked at each other and then they smiled and shook hands.

"It's good to meet you, sir." Katie said.

"Likewise and please call me Capt. Barkley." John replied.

"Okay captain."

Stephens ran over to the group to talk to Capt. Barkley. "Sir, we got a report of a robbery at the bank at Orchard Drive and Plymouth Lane! We got to go!"

"Okay Stephens, get the car started and I'll be there soon." Stephens ran off to the car, leaving Capt. Barkley, Tom and Katie behind. "Well, it's time for me to go to work. I'll see you later Tom and it was nice meeting you Katie." Capt. Barkley turned and ran toward his police car. He and Stephens got inside, turned on the sirens and peeled out of the university. After they left, Tom and Katie started to walk off together.

"Your Dad seems like a nice man." Katie told Tom.

"He is a nice man. In fact he's the best!" Tom said.

"By the way, I tried to call you. I wanted to tell you something."

"About what?"

"The truth behind your breakup with Vanessa. I don't mean to hurt you, but she…"

"…left me for Travis. I know."

"But how did you?"

"I saw them kissing about a week ago. She didn't even bother waiting a few months!"

"Well in any case, I'm really sorry, Tom."

"It's fine Katie. Look I'm going to go to my room for a while, so I'll talk to you later okay?"

"Okay." But before Tom left, Katie gave him a friendly/sisterly peck on his fore head. Tom smiled and then he left. Tom reached his dorm room and he started to ponder about what happened last night. And then he remembered: The Scarecrow costume, stalking and scaring Daniel, and then ultimately killing him. Tom went to his bathroom and look at his mirror. When he looked into the reflection, he saw Scarecrow staring at him.

"_So was last night awesome or what?" _Scarecrow asked.

"Daniel Kolley." Tom said. "You killed him?"

"_WE killed him, fool!"_

"We?" Tom said a little surprisingly.

"_Yeah man! Did you completely forget about our plan to punish this university and everyone in it?"_

"That's true." Then Tom's expression got a little bit colder. "So what do we do now?"

"_We go after more people of course!"_

"What about Travis and Vanessa? Are we going to get them?"

"_No not yet. Let's take our time and kill the people that kept rubbing it in your face."_

Tom knew what and who the people he's talking about. When he looked at the mirror again, Scarecrow was gone. Tom left the bathroom and walked to his bed. He pulled out the little black suitcase. He put it on his bed and opened it. Inside was his Scarecrow costume. He picked up the mask and held it in his hands. And then, Tom began to grin an evil, if not crazed grin.


	9. Suspicous Students

In another part of Gallagher University, there was an indoor swimming pool. This pool is perfect for free swimming, practicing for swim meets and actual swim meets. Inside the pool at this moment was Amber. She loves being in the pool or any pool for that matter. Whenever she's in the pool, she mostly does her strokes. The types of strokes were freestyle, backstroke, elementary backstroke and breaststroke. Out of those strokes, freestyle was her favorite.

Amber was doing laps in the pool when her swim coach Paula Quincy told her to get out of the pool so they could talk. Amber got out, dried herself off and walked towards her coach.

"I was looking over your lap records. You need to get your times down." she stated.

"I know, ma'am." Amber replied.

"I don't mean to put any pressure on you for you're one of my best swimmers but the meet is coming up in about a week!"

"Yes coach."

"Is there something wrong?"

"I can't wrap my mind around this. Daniel is dead and I still can't believe it. I mean, I don't know him that well, but I felt like he was a good person and that something like this happened. Who would do this?" As she said that, she began to look sad.

Coach Quincy understood completely. "Yeah I know what you mean. I've been a coach at Gallagher for years and never thought that a murder would happen at this institute. But I will say this, Amber. Whoever did this will be punished."

"You're right. Thanks coach." Amber began to smile.

"No problem. But like I said, just keep working on getting your time records down. I'll see you later on today." Coach Quincy got up and left the pool area. After the coach left, Amber was still sitting down, not really in the mood to continue swimming. She just got her towel and went to the locker room.

The whole university was feeling down about Daniel's death and was feeling a little bit scared that the murderer could still be lurking about. It was early in the afternoon and people were still looking and feeling down. At the courtyard, a group of students were talking amongst themselves.

"I just don't understand it. Who would want to kill Daniel Kolley and what was the motive?"

"I don't know. Maybe they were just doing this for kicks."

"Did Daniel have any enemies? Did anybody have a vendetta against him?"

"No one that I know of."

"Wait, what about Tom?"

"Thomas Barkley? What about him?"

"He and Daniel were in my math class. At The Cellar, Tom beat him in a break dancing contest a while back and Daniel never forgave him for that. Then later Tom's girlfriend, Vanessa dumped him and Daniel made fun of him. Do you think that maybe-"

"No way! Tom's a nice guy he wouldn't do something like that!"

"Yeah but he had a motive. If my girlfriend left me and someone was making fun of me about that, I'd go crazy and beat him up too."

"That's true. But you would just beat them, not kill them."

"If we had our choice guys, I'd say we keep a close eye on Tom. If he's behind Daniel's death, we could get him expelled or even sent him to prison!"

"Even if Tom did the devious deed, what proof do we have?"

"You're right. We got no evidence at all. Regardless, I'm going to keep a close but subtle eye on him."

"Yeah me too!"

"Okay, Brian and Victor; If you want to play Sherlock Homes and Watson, be my guest but leave me out of this!"

"Whatever you say, Neil." Brian remarked.

"Yeah man." Victor added. He and Brian left the courtyard and walked off in a different direction leaving Neil behind.

"Sometimes I can't believe those guys are my friends." Neil said to himself. It was starting to get darker and in the newsroom was Edward. He was doing some late editing for the paper. He already did a small piece in the paper stating that Travis and Vanessa was a cute couple. After the events on what happened today, he wrote a eulogy tribute to Daniel Kolley. It read:

'There have been many tragedies in the world, but what feels like a big tragedy is what happened here at this very university. Daniel Kolley, a senior at Gallagher, died late last night. He was savagely murdered by a currently unknown assailant. The main thing is we shouldn't focus about his death, but what he's done for all of us. Daniel always had a smile on his face and tried to make people happy in whatever way he could. Everybody at Gallagher University, both students and faculty, will miss him so. He'll always be in our thoughts and in our hearts. Daniel Kolley, March 12, 1988 – May 17, 2010.' And above the eulogy tribute was Daniel's school photo.

Edward looked it over and he thought he did a good job on it. He went to the other side of the room and began to start the copier. While was in the middle of his copying, the lights flickered. Edward was startled, but then the lights went completely out! Edward screamed and then the lights came back on; still dark but Edward could see a little. He heard a thump and walked around the room. "Hello?" he called out but no one replied. He had a strange feeling that someone or something was behind him nearby. He quickly turned around and saw nothing. Edward was still freaked out and tried to turn on the lights completely but they still didn't work.

Edward didn't give it a second thought. He just wanted to get the hell out of there and he was thinking that he'll finish up in the morning. But before he could get out of the newspaper room, he got to the door and turned the knob. He was locked in! Panic started to seep in as Edward began to hyperventilate. It was late in the night and no one knew he was in the newsroom! But someone did. Edward turned around and saw Scarecrow standing a few feet in front of him.

"_That's right." _Scarecrow said. _"It's just you and me, Eddie."_

Edward screamed and then Scarecrow charged at him and slammed him into the door. Edward groaned as Scarecrow started to punch the living stuffing out of him. He pushed Scarecrow away and tried to run, but he tripped and twisted his ankle. Edward screamed and started to cry. Not so much of the pain, but for the situation he was in. Scarecrow saw him lying there and walked towards him. He grabbed Edward by his hair and dragged him towards the copy machine. When they got there, Scarecrow banged Edward's head several times on the table and after he was done, he threw Edward towards the copier. He slammed into it, the lid closed down on his back and his hand hit the start button.

Scarecrow just stood there chuckling as Edward screamed as the copier light went back and forth. Below the copier, papers were printing out copies of Edward's bloody face and feared facial expressions. Edward's body slid out from beneath the copy lid and slumped down to the floor. Scarecrow took one of the copies of Edward's face and looked at him.

"_Here's a headline for your stupid paper, 'Ed is dead.' Put that in your paper and print that!" _Scarecrow laughed. After he said that, he walked over to a nearby table and saw Daniel's eulogy tribute. He read it over. _"Not bad. I like it." _And then he looked at another piece and read it. _" 'Vanessa Ramirez and Travis Linderman. Gallagher's cutest couple.' Those two make me sick!" _He made a fake vomit noise and began to leave. Suddenly he heard a sound and turned around. He saw that Edward was still alive! Scarecrow walked over as Edward grabbed something. He turned around and saw Scarecrow looming over him. He quickly turned and snapped a picture of Scarecrow with his camera!

Scarecrow was stunned by the flash and while he was rubbing his eyes, Edward hid the camera beneath some papers. Scarecrow had enough of him so he grabbed his knife from his pocket and slashed Edward's throat. He coughed and gurgled and held his throat in a pathetic attempt to stop the blood but it was no use. The last thing Edward thought before he died was that he hoped somebody would find his camera, develop the film and see his killer. Scarecrow just stood there looking down at Edward. He grabbed one of the copies of Edward's face and left the newsroom, locking the door behind him, thinking it was a night well spent.


	10. Dating all around

The sun rose as a new day began. Neil was on his way to the newsroom to meet up with Edward. He told Neil to meet up at the newsroom as soon as they woke up. Neil reached the door to the newsroom. When he tried to open it, it was locked. "That's strange." he thought. "Edward's always here in the mornings." He knocked on the door. No one answered. He saw a janitor walking by and asked him if he could open the door. The janitor nodded and got his set of keys from his belt. After a few moments of fumbling, he found the right key and unlocked the door. Neil thanked him and the janitor when on his way. Neil went inside and saw the newsroom was a mess! He heard a sound coming from the copy room. He went there a saw a gruesome sight. It was Edward, lying there bloodied, throat slashed, broken ankle and a few teeth knocked out! Neil screamed and called campus security.

Meanwhile Vanessa was starting her usual morning routine. She got up, showered, got dressed, and brushed her hair. After she was done, she went to the main hall and sat on the couch. She was a little bored so she decided to watch some TV. She flipped through various channels like, Nick, Disney, Cartoon Network, TNT, Comedy Central and FX. Vanessa was watching more endless television when several security guards ran past her, yelling at students to get out of the way. She was wondering what was going on, but she decided to worry about it later. About half an hour later, she heard police sirens outside. Now she was concerned. She turned off the TV and went outside.

When she got outside, she saw more police cars surrounding a certain part of the university. Vanessa ran over to that area and saw something she didn't notice. She saw an ambulance and several paramedics carrying a body bag into the ambulance. Once it was inside, the ambulance took off, wailing the siren. While most of the students were watching the ambulance leave, Capt. John Barkley and his partner, Officer Stephens, along with the head dean, were walking out of the building.

"I just can't believe this." Capt. Barkley said. "Another murder?"

"Yes sir." The Dean replied. "Edward Harrison. Head editor of the yearbook and the college newspaper."

"Who would do something like this?" Stephens wondered. Just then, one of the officers came out of the building.

"Sir, I found this under some papers. It could be a clue!" he said. The officer held up a clear plastic bag. Inside was Edward's camera.

"Okay, get that down to the station and develop the film inside!" Capt. Barkley ordered.

"Yes sir!" The officer turned and ran towards his police car. Capt. Barkley and Stephens were still back at the spot trying to clear the area of students and faculty. Meanwhile Vanessa was walking and weaving her way in and out of people when she saw Amber. She ran in her direction.

"Amber! What's going on?" Vanessa wondered.

"You don't know?" Amber asked. "Edward was killed last night."

"Really? What happened to him?"

"He was murdered. I heard he was beaten and his throat was cut."

"Oh this is bad; First Daniel, now Edward? Who's next?"

The two friends started to walk away. "I don't know and I don't want to know. All I know is Gallagher doesn't seem like a good place to be right now with this killer on the loose."

"I agree with you."

"And you know the worst part is? I overheard one of the policemen say they don't have any leads or suspects. They also implied that the murderer could be anyone. You want my advice? Don't trust anyone until this blows over, okay?"

"I know and understand. Changing the subject, what're you going to do today?"

"I don't know. Maybe rent some movies or just go back into the pool."

"You're always in that swimming pool, you know that?" Vanessa started to smile.

"Yeah I know." Amber chuckled. "But the swim regional is coming up soon and Coach Quincy wants me to practice every spare time I get. I want to win as much as she does, but sometimes she just takes it too far!"

"Yeah, but you really are the best swimmer. Other schools wouldn't stand a chance!"

"True. But what about you; What're you going to do today?"

"I'm going to spend time with Travis, maybe see a movie together or something."

"Well don't let me stop you. I hope the both of you have a good time doing whatever it is you guys are doing today."

"Okay I'll see you later." They gave each other a high five and walked in different directions. Vanessa wondered where Travis was so she decided to check the football field. Sure enough, she found him and a couple of football players sitting on the bleachers. She walked down the steps and called Travis' name. Travis turned and saw his girlfriend walking towards him. He wanted some privacy so he begged his friends to go to the other side of the bleachers. His teammates absorbed his begging and obliged. They left so Travis and Vanessa could be alone.

"What's up, babe?" Vanessa asked.

"My teammates and I just finished some more practicing on the gridiron for a game coming up soon."

"Is your coach pressuring you guys?"

"A little bit. We all share his desire to win, but he takes it too far! It's like boot camp or something!"

"I can relate. Amber said her swim coach is pressing her too. So anyway, are you busy today?"

"No I don't have anything to do. Why?"

"Would you like to see a movie? If not a movie, how about we just spend the rest of the day together?" As she said that, she began to smile.

"Sure. I'd love that." Travis smiled and Vanessa smiled back. She leaned towards him and kissed him. They held each other close as they kissed some more. Vanessa pulled away a few moments later.

"Okay, call me a little later. I'm going to prepare. Also be sure you take a shower before you show up to pick me up. You smell." Vanessa gave a flirty smile and left. Travis smiled as she left. When Vanessa was gone, he smelled himself. He really DID stink!

Capt. Barkley and Stephens were still at the university, but this time they're in the courtyard. John didn't want his son to be here while the killer is prowling around Gallagher. He got out his cell and dialed Tom's number. The phone ranged several times and a little later Tom answered.

"Hello?" Tom said.

"Tom, it's your father. I'm at the university and I don't think it's safe to be here with the murders and all."

"Dad, I'll be fine. I'll just don't go out at night, okay?"

John got a little frustrated with his son. "Thomas! Two students are dead and you're acting like everything is fine! Don't you get this is serious?"

Tom sighed. "You're right, Dad. I'm sorry. Look if it'll make you feel better, I'll move in with Mom at the house, all right?"

John took note that Tom sounded sincere. "Okay, it's just that, you're my only son and I love you."

"I love you too Dad. I'll get some things and say goodbye to Katie before I go."

"All right. Just promise me you'll be careful. The situation is critical and downright spooky! I'll talk to you later." John hung up his phone and looked at Stephens.

"Everything okay, sir?" Stephens asked.

John sighed. "I don't know. I just hope we can catch whomever this bozo is."

"We'll catch him sir."

"I hope so." He and Stephens got up from the table and began to go back to the station. Back at his dorm, Tom was holding his cell phone in his hand and was thinking about what his father had said. He looked at his mirror and smiled.

"I know how dangerous this situation is, Daddy-O. More than you could even imagine." Tom began to chuckle deeply. He left his room and began to go to the main area of the building. He saw Katie lying on the couch. Tom walked up to her.

"How you doing, Katie?" Tom wondered.

Katie turned around. "Oh hey, Tom. I'm just watching some TV. You want to join me?"

"Sure." Tom sat down next to Katie and began to watch TV. After a few minutes, Katie began to make some conversation.

"So what's going on with you?"

"Well my Dad just called me a few minutes ago. He was growing concerned about me going here and he wants me to live with my mom until this whole killing spree thing dies down."

"Do you want to leave?"

"Not really, I want to stay and be near all my friends."

"Even me?" she asked playfully.

"Especially you." Katie snuggled close to Tom. He had his arm around her. "But I might just spend at least a few days at the house a little later though, just to make Dad happy."

"You're always somebody to make people happy, Tom."

"Yeah I know." They continued to watch TV for almost the rest of the day. While they were lying on the couch, Katie occasionally glanced up at Tom. She dreamed of the two of them doing something like this. Well, they have before when Tom was dating Vanessa, but this time it felt romantic to her because she likes him and he's single. Another thing she noticed about Tom is he looked distant. Like his mind was wandering off.

"Tom, are you okay?" Katie asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Tom replied. He looked at his watch. It was almost 7 p.m. "I'm going to go back to my dorm."

Katie sighed quietly. She didn't want Tom to go, but they both have science class in the morning, so she also decided that she better get to her dorm. "Okay, but could you please walk with me to my dorm? I'm sort of afraid that this killer could be lurking about."

"Yeah, of course." Katie turned off the TV and she and Tom left the living area. As they were walking, Tom took careful note that there was campus security all over the university. After the deaths of Daniel and Edward, The Dean isn't taking any chances. Katie noticed the security too, and she was even more nervous. 10 minutes later, they reached Katie's dorm area.

"Well, here you are Ms. Bates." Tom said in an elegant, escort voice.

"Thanks so much Tom." Katie giggled. She just stood there for a moments looking at him. As Tom turned to leave, Katie called to him. Tom turned around and saw Katie walking up to him and gave him a soft, sweet kiss on his cheek. Katie noticed Tom's shocked expression and she giggled some more. "I'll see you in Mr. Gordon's class in the morning." She said to him and she walked up the building's stairs and went inside. Tom just stood there, putting his hand on the cheek Katie kissed him at. And then, he did something he hasn't done in a long while. Thomas Barkley started to smile.

Meanwhile at the police station, Capt. Barkley, Stephens and a fellow officer were in a darkroom of the police station developing the film from Edward's camera. So far, all they found were pictures of various students, some teachers, and Edward's family.

"I'm certain this camera has some kind of clues on what happened to this kid." the officer said.

"Maybe, but we haven't found anything yet." Capt. Barkley said.

"Well here's the last piece of film we didn't do." Stephens noted.

They put the paper in a small white bin with water inside. They made sure it was inside and then they waited. For 10 seconds the paper just floated there, but then like the sun shining after a rainstorm, the picture became clearer. The 3 men couldn't tell what it was yet, so they continued waiting. After about 30 seconds, they could see the picture a little bit more clearly. It looked like it was picture of somebody holding something. A few minutes later, they could see the picture better.

"Who or what the hell is that?" the officer said out loud.

Capt. Barkley and Stephens continued to stare at the photo. This is the very last picture Edward took before he died. The picture was the Scarecrow pointing his knife towards Edward. Capt. Barkley and Stephens looked at the photo and then at each other.

"I think that's Farmer Brown's Scarecrow, sir." Stephens said to his boss.

"I think you're right." Capt. Barkley replied. "I think you're right. As soon as this photo dries, we got to show this to The Dean. I think Gallagher University is being stalked- no pun intended- by a homicidal Scarecrow!"


	11. Emergency Assembly

The next morning, The Dean was sitting at his office desk. He usually liked his job, but after what happened in the last few days, he doesn't really like it anymore. A murderer is on the loose, prowling around the university and killed 2 people. And to add more stress to his problems, he's supposed to be responsible for all the students. Suddenly, his office door burst open and Capt. Barkley and Stephens came in.

"Dean, you need to take a look at this!" Capt. Barkley said. He put the photo on his desk. The Dean looked at it.

"What is it?" he asked the policemen.

"It's a Scarecrow! The photo was in Edward's camera. We think he took that picture right before he died and this Scarecrow could be the one responsible for the terror around Gallagher University!" Stephens said worriedly.

The Dean was considering this. "Do you have any proof that this Scarecrow guy did this?" he asked.

"Yes sir we do." Capt. Barkley replied. He held up a clear plastic baggie with something inside. "What's inside here is a piece of straw. It was found near Edward's body." He held up another clear plastic baggie with straw and hay inside. "And this was also found near Daniel's body. Now do you believe that we're onto something?"

The Dean started to think. He just couldn't believe that a Scarecrow could just come to life and kill people, but the photo and the evidence seemed promising. He immediately got on the intercom and started to speak. "Attention, everybody at Gallagher University! This is The Dean speaking. I want everybody, both students and faculty, to stop what they're doing and head straight to the auditorium for an emergency announcement!" He disconnected the intercom. He turned to Capt. Barkley and Stephens. "Would you guys mind standing by side during this meeting?"

"Of course we will!" Capt. Barkley replied. The Dean ran out of his office and ran towards the auditorium. Capt. Barkley and Stephens were walking behind him.

"Sir, do you think we should tell Farmer Brown that his Scarecrow is a murderer?" Stephens asked.

"Don't be stupid Stephens," Capt. Barkley replied. "His Scarecrow couldn't have come to life. Somebody obviously stole his Scarecrow, dressed up like him and started and killing spree."

"Of course, sorry sir."

"It's fine Stephens, why don't you catch up with The Dean. I'll call Farmer Brown and let him know what's going on."

"Okay. I'll see you at the auditorium." Stephens turned and left while Capt. Barkley stayed behind. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Farmer Brown's number. It rang a few times but he picked up.

"Hello?" Farmer Brown began.

"Hello Farmer Brown. This is Capt. Barkley."

"Oh hey, Captain. What's up?"

"Well, I just thought I'd keep you in the loop of things and tell you that we found your Scarecrow."

"Really? Where is it?"

"Well, it's possible that it's the one responsible for the murders of 2 kids here at Gallagher University."

"What? That's crazy! Unless… He came to life, didn't he?"

"Jack, it did not come to life! There has to be somebody behind all this!"

"We'll see about that, my friend. Regardless though, thanks for telling me about this. Let me know if anything comes up."

"You got it. I'll talk to you later." Capt. Barkley hung up his phone and started to walk towards the auditorium.

20 minutes earlier, Tom was on his way to Mr. Gordon's class. While he was walking, he can't help but think about last night. He and Katie were spending the day watching TV together. Then afterwards, he escorted Katie back to her dorm building. Also, she kissed him on the cheek! Tom was happy to spend time with his best friend and he could probably see her as a potential girlfriend, but he just doesn't want to date anyone as of right now. He's still angry at Vanessa for dumping him for his ex best friend, Travis. As he was thinking a while back, he'll make them pay.

Tom reached the building and walked to Mr. Gordon's class. He found Mr. Gordon sitting at his desk, waiting for class to start. Tom also saw other classmates talking amongst themselves. Looking around, he saw Katie. He walked over to her.

Katie looked towards him. "Hey buddy."

"Hello Katie." Tom replied.

"So did you have a good time last or what?"

"Yeah it was awesome." Tom began to smile a little bit.

"Hey Tom, can I ask you something?"

"Sure Katie. What's on your mind?"

"I was wondering…" She paused for a minute. "Will you-''

The intercom blared. The Dean's voice could be heard. "Attention everybody at Gallagher University! This is The Dean speaking. I want everybody, both students and faculty to stop what they're doing and head straight to the auditorium for an emergency announcement!"

Tom was getting concerned about The Dean's announcement. He wondered what it was about. At the same time, Mr. Gordon was thinking the same thing.

"Okay class, you heard the man. Everybody drop everything and go straight to the auditorium!" he declared. Everybody got up and left. Tom was going too.

"Just hold on to that thought on whatever's on your mind and we'll talk later." Tom said and he left. Katie was still in the classroom for a few moments longer.

"Damn it Dean," she said to herself. "You just ruined a golden opportunity here." She was angry that she couldn't ask Tom the question, but she knows they'll be plenty of time for that later. With that thought, she left the classroom and followed the students.

Meanwhile at the auditorium, the whole university made up of students and faculty were all there, wondering what this emergency meeting is all about. Katie was just coming in through the doors, trying to look for Tom. She wanted to sit by him. Luckily, she found him sitting in the 3rd row near the center aisle. She felt even more lucky that there was an empty seat next to him. When she sat down, she noticed Tom was acting a little bit weird. He was noticing that The Dean, his father, and Officer Stephens were on the stage. He also noticed that Travis and Vanessa were sitting several rows behind him. He tried to not let that bother him for right now.

The Dean began to speak. "Okay everyone, quiet please!" he yelled into the microphone. Everybody got quiet. The Dean continued to speak. "It has come to my attention that Capt. Barkley and Officer Stephens here have possibly indentified the person who's terrorizing this campus." Everybody gasped and started whispering to amongst themselves. "According to them, this university is being terrorized by a…" He paused and looked at the officers. He turned back around towards everyone. "…Scarecrow." As soon as he said that, the crowd was quiet. Then they started to laugh. They think that's the most ridiculous thing they ever heard! The Dean and the officers don't think it's funny. Capt. Barkley grabbed the microphone and started talking.

"Will all of you just shut up and listen?" he bellowed. The crowd started to get quiet again. "Look, I know this sounds crazy, believe me I know, but we have evidence that proves this is true." He motioned Stephens to hand him the baggies. "I know you guys can't see this, but inside this baggie are several strands of straw. It was found near Daniel Kolley's body." He held up another baggie. "This baggie has the same thing in it, but this was found on Edward Harrison's body." He started an overhead projector and showed them the photo. "And this picture was in Edward's camera! This clearly shows that Scarecrow was standing over him ready to kill him!"

Everybody started to get scared, Katie especially. "So my advice to all of you, either stay locked up in your rooms or move out of this campus until we catch this manic!" Capt. Barkley concluded. The Dean grabbed the microphone and started to speak. "And that's all we wanted to tell you. All classes are cancelled today and everybody leave this place!" Some of the students cheered and other were scared out of their wits. When the assembly was over, a group of students were discussing about the situation. These students were Katie, Tom, Victor, Brian, and Neil.

"This is insane!" Neil said. "A Scarecrow? Who would do this?"

"I don't know," Katie replied. "Tom, what do you think?"

"A guy who dresses up like a Scarecrow clearly has issues." Tom said in as-a-matter-of-fact tone.

"Oh, really Tom?" Brian wondered.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Brian and I think that you're responsible for this!" Victor said accusingly.

"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard you guys say!" yelled Katie.

"Yeah!" Neil agreed.

"Man, I'm not going to take this from Dumb & Dumber here! If you guys think that I did this, I don't want to see you guys again!" Tom stormed off in a direction. Katie and Neil watched him leave. Katie was behind the group and she was angry at Brian and Victor for thinking that way. She knows Tom would never do anything like that.

Tom was walking all the way to his dorm. The truth is he wasn't angry, he was just trying to eliminate himself as a suspect. He got inside his room and looked at his bathroom mirror. Scarecrow appeared.

"_Okay this is so not good."_ Scarecrow said.

"You think?" Tom said. There was sarcasm in his voice. "Now the cops and the whole university are onto us! Well, onto you, anyway."

"_Well, we can think of something, can't we?"_

"Maybe. It's all Brian and Victor's fault. They're onto us and they're trying to get everyone to start asking questions! We should go after them next!"

"_Yeah, but I got an idea. What possible satisfaction could we get from killing them?"_

"Some but we've come too far to let them screw everything up!"

"_Here's where my idea comes in. We'll kill one of them, but we'll keep the other one alive."_

"Why should we do that?"

"_Because we need a sucker to throw the cops off our tail."_

Tom liked what he was hearing. "All right. I like it! Let's put this into action tonight." And then, Tom started to lie on his bed, planning his devious plan.


	12. Doing Something Worthwhile

Back at the police station, Capt. Barkley was sitting at his office desk. He was thinking about the emergency announcement back at Gallagher University. People didn't take what was being said seriously at first, but after he showed them the evidence, people are starting to believe. He remembered students wanted to see the baggies with those straws inside. He also remembered that his son, Tom was acting strange during the assembly. Was he scared about the situation or was there something else wrong with him? He picked up his phone and started to call his wife, Melissa. She answered.

"Hello?" Melissa asked.

"Hey honey, it's me." John replied.

"Hey. I heard about what happened, is Tom okay?"

"Yeah, he's fine. When I was helping The Dean with the situation, I noticed Tom was acting somewhat strange."

"Oh my. Should we be worried?"

"I don't think so. I talked to him earlier. I told him I didn't want him there at Gallagher while this killer on the loose so he's willing to bunk with us at the house for a few days."

"That sounds good. Where's Tom now?"

"He's at the university. He should be packing up. He's probably doing something worthwhile."

Meanwhile at Gallagher University, Tom was still lying on his bed. He looked at his clock on the nightstand. It was 7 p.m. He finally thought of a plan. He got his little black suitcase, with his Scarecrow costume inside, and started to leave his dorm. He walked out into the hallway and saw that there were hardly any students wandering about. They must have been locked up tight in their rooms or moved out. Either way, he didn't care. Tom was walking towards the main doors when he saw a security guard! Even though this place is a college campus and not a prison, The Dean had made security extra tight meaning anybody caught roaming around campus after dark will be either tazed or shot on sight. Tom remembered that so he wanted the guard to go away. He reached into his pocket and got out a quarter. He rolled it on the ground towards the guard. The coin rolled past him and went to another room. The guard saw it and started to follow it. The very second he left, Tom darted through the doors.

The next part of his plan was to find several syringes. Tom knew the only place he could get some is at the nurse's office. He took another note saw more guards patrolling around campus. One of the guards was heading towards him and Tom got another idea. He hid out of sight and whistled at the guard. He heard the whistle and walked towards Tom's hiding spot. When he got there, Tom grabbed a large stick and knocked him out! The guard fell down instantly. Tom took off his clothes and put on the guard's uniform. Now Tom was in disguise and can roam freely around the university.

Tom was walking causally and was hoping that his fake guard disguise would fool the real guards. He was walking past one of them and the guard just nodded his head. It's working! In no time, he reached the main offices. He went inside and walked to the nurse's office. He went inside and closed the door. He was going through various cabinets and drawers until he finally found what he was looking for; A small package with syringes in them. He held and read the box.

" '30 ml syringe needles, good for a muscle relaxant, strong enough to take down a rogue rhino.' Cool!" he said out loud to himself. He opened the box and put several syringes into his suitcase. He put everything back where he found it and left the nurse's office. Tom wasn't the only student breaking the curfew rule. Brian and Victor snuck out of their dorm, avoided the guards and were trying to find any evidence.

"You find anything?" Brian asked.

"Nope," Victor replied. "Maybe we shouldn't do this man. I mean, with this curfew and all, maybe we should just head back to our rooms and-"

"Victor, look!"

Victor looked in Brian's direction and saw a security guard walking and carrying a small briefcase. Brian looked at the guard more closely and realized that was Tom in disguise!

"Dude, it's Tom!" Brian whispered to Victor.

"What's he up to?" Victor wondered.

"I don't know, but I bet you he's up to no good. Let's follow him." After he said that, Brian and Victor got up and quietly followed Tom. While Tom was walking, he heard something and glanced out of the corner of his eye. He saw Brian and Victor following him. "I have had enough of the Hardy Boys." Tom thought. "They're going to regret tailing me." Knowing he was being followed, Tom lured them towards another building and went inside. Brian and Victor also entered. Tom wanted to have a moments peace before commencing the next phase of his plan, so for now, he gave Brian and Victor the slip.

Meanwhile, Brian and Victor were still trying to follow Tom, but then they noticed he disappeared!

"Oh man!" Brian whispered. "Where did he go?"

"I don't know." Victor replied. He looked at a door. "Maybe he went in here?"

Brian and Victor opened the door and looked inside. It was a Wood Shop room. They had no idea why Tom would be in there, but they decided to look around. Brian tried to turn on the light, but no luck. They were broke. Victor looked at Brian.

"Now what?" he asked.

"He's probably around here somewhere." Brian continued to look around the room. "Hey Vic, I think there's an Auto Shop classroom right next door through that room. Why don't you see if Tom's in there?"

"Okay." Victor grabbed a flashlight from a desk drawer and went into another room. Brian was still looking around the room for any kind of clues. So far, he had no luck. Brian was so into his search that he didn't notice that a door was slowly opening up behind him. A figure stepped into the room and quietly went to the tool rack. He picked up a metal hammer and tiptoed towards Brian's back. He tapped on Brian's shoulder.

"Hey Vic," Brian said without turning around. "Can't you see I'm busy right now?" The Figure just stood there and continued to tap on his shoulder. "Cut it out, dude." Brian said in an annoyed tone.

"_Okay stop." _ The Figure said ominously.

Brian started to get a little nervous. Whoever that was behind him, it's not Victor. Brian turned around and saw Scarecrow behind him holding the hammer!

"_It's hammer time!" _Scarecrow said. After he said that, he slammed the hammer right into Brian's head! The metal hit Brian's skull with a sickening smack as Brian fell head first to the floor. While he was lying there, he was shaking violently, as if he was having a seizure. Scarecrow took this moment to observe Brian's seizure. He still got the hammer in his hand and started to beat Brian repeatedly in the head until he stopped shaking entirely. Scarecrow leaned near Brian's ear to whisper something in his ear.

"_You can't touch this." _Scarecrow whispered. Then he started to laugh. Then he remembered Victor was next door. He was sure to be back any minute. Scarecrow hid behind a door and waited for Victor.

Victor was looking around the Auto Room for Tom or any clues. He didn't want to report back to Brian with nothing, but he may have to and also suggest to him to look in other places where he could be hiding. Preoccupied with those thoughts, he went back to the Wood Shop room. When he got there, he shined his flashlight around the room. He couldn't see his friend.

"Brian?" he whispered. "Where are you?" He walked around the room and closed the door behind him. If he would've turned around while he did that, he would've seen Scarecrow looming behind it. But he didn't and that mistake is going to cost him. Victor was walking around the room when he saw someone lying down. He went for a closer look and found Brian dead in a pool of his own blood! Victor was in so much shock that he couldn't say or do anything. Scarecrow crept up behind him and took out a syringe from his pocket. He suddenly grabbed Victor's hair and jabbed the needle in the vain in his neck! Victor yelped from the pain, but no one could hear him. He turned around and saw Scarecrow just staring at him. Victor tried to say something but his speech was slurred and his vision was blurry. Within seconds, he fell to the ground, unconscious. Scarecrow looked at his victims and smiled. He grabbed the hammer he used to kill Brian and rubbed the handle on Victor's right hand. He also cut a little bit of Victor's hair and planted it on Brian's body. When he was done with that, Scarecrow went into a storage closet.

A few minutes later, the storage closet opened and out came Tom in his security guard disguise. He picked up Victor and carried him out of the room. Tom walked outside with Victor in his arms. Some security guards noticed this and Tom simply said he's asleep and he's going to take him back to his room. When the guards were out of sight, Tom went back to his dorm and tied up Victor. He placed a gag in his mouth and stuffed him in his closet. Tom got rid of his disguise and started to go to bed. He looked at his clock and it was midnight. Tom also knew that Victor won't cause any trouble. That syringe he used to knock him out wasn't permanent, but he'll be knocked out for a few days. Tom got into bed and like an excited kid on Christmas Eve, he couldn't wait until morning.


	13. Vanessa meets Scarecrow

Tom was starting to wake up from his slumber. He was so excited about what he did last night that he just couldn't sleep. He had 2 victims last night. One was lying dead in the Wood Shop room on the other side of the university; and Tom would bet money that the teacher found his dead body and called the police yet again, and the other victim was knocked out due to a strong muscle relaxant in his bloodstream inside Tom's closet right now. Despite his giddiness, sleep eventually found him last night.

Tom got up and started to go take a shower. While he was in there, for some strange reason, he was singing Elvis Presley's "Blue Christmas". The fact that he was singing a Christmas song in the summertime may have people think it's a little bit crazy. But he didn't care. When his shower was finished, he got out, dried himself off and put on his clothes. He looked at his clock. It was 10 a.m. Before he left his room, he went to his closet and opened the door. He saw Victor, still bound and gagged, in a deep sleep in his closet. "Rest well, kid." Tom said. He closed the door and causally walked out of his dorm.

When Tom got outside, he saw to his surprise that there wasn't a lot of police cars as before. Maybe the police was tired of going back and forth from Gallagher to the station. Tom was for sure that his father and Stephens were on the scene somewhere.

Sure enough, Capt. Barkley and Stephens were just outside of the Wood Shop room talking to The Dean.

"Okay this is insane!" The Dean said. "That's 3 murders in the past several days! Do you guys have any suspects yet?"

"Well," Capt. Barkley began. "We did find some pieces of hair to the kid's body and we also found a hammer with blood on the head."

"But are you guys going to do anything?"

"We're going to have the forensic team at the station analyze the hair follicles and dust the handle on the hammer for any clues." Stephens stated. While the men were talking, several specialists put on their gloves and were using tweezers to get the hair off Brian's body and into clear plastic baggies. After they were done with that, they carefully picked up the bloodied hammer and put that in a separate clear plastic baggie. They walked past Capt. Barkley.

"Sir, we got the evidence and we're going to do our best to solve this." One of them said.

"How long would it take?" he asked.

"Probably the rest of today," the other one said. "Regardless, we'll keep you posted." They walked past him and started to head towards their analyzing lab.

"If things keep going from bad to worse," The Dean said. "I'm just going to quit this job."

"Why would you quit?" Stephens asked.

"Because I'm responsible for all the students and faculty here! The parents of the students want their children to have a good education at this institution, but instead, they're scared to death! 3 fellow students are dead, that means 3 families lost someone and I just can't handle this stress. I don't know what else to say, guys. Maybe my days as a dean are numbered."

Capt. Barkley and Stephens stared at The Dean. They had no idea that all of this was going on in his head. But he does have a point. When you're responsible for the care and safety of others, it can be too much to bear. And it's because of that, they're wondering why they decided to be policemen. It's the exact same thing to protect and serve the people of this city at no matter what cost. Anybody could say they like doing something, but when the going gets tough, at that moment, that's what matters if you could handle it and go through with it.

"You do have a point, Dean." Stephens said finally. "But we can do this! We already know that Scarecrow is responsible for the murders here right? And he left behind some of his actual hair and left the murder weapon here, right? All we have to do is let the boys at the lab analyze the clues and after they do that, they'll tell us who did this, and then we can catch and identify this guy before someone gets hurt!"

"You're absolutely right, Stephens." Capt. Barkley said. "All we have to do is wait until tonight. I hope nobody else is next victim."

Meanwhile Vanessa was just finishing her morning routine when Amber came inside the room. It didn't take long at all to figure out where she was. Doing more laps in the pool, like she almost every day.

"Just came back from swimming, I presume?" Vanessa asked sarcastically.

"Maybe, maybe not." Amber replied. After she said that, she started to smile and Vanessa smiled back. "So what are your plans today?"

"Well I'm going to go to my math class and then I'm going to spend time with Travis; that is, if he's not busy."

"I'll say. It's not easy being the big man on campus."

"Well, I'm going to get going to class and I'll see you later, okay?"

"All right. I'll see you around." Vanessa and Amber gave each other a high five and Vanessa left the room. As she was walking through the courtyard, she noticed some police cars leaving the university. She also remembered that this Scarecrow guy is presumably responsible for all this terror. She prayed every day that whoever is behind all this would be locked up or better yet killed. She also double prayed that she wouldn't be the next victim.

Vanessa reached her math class and she noticed that her teacher looked grim. She walked up to him. Class didn't start just yet, so she had time to talk.

"What wrong, sir?" she asked.

"I just got word that there's been yet another murder. Brian O'Reilly."

"Oh my," Vanessa said shocked. "I'm starting to get really nervous now. What should we do?"

"Only one thing we could do, worry and hope the police can stop this lunatic."

The bell rang and everyone took their seats. As class went on, Vanessa couldn't concentrate on her work. She just couldn't get it out of her mind. 3 students dead! She looked around her classroom. She saw her fellow classmates doing their work. Vanessa didn't want to get too close to them. After all, the police have no idea about Scarecrow's true identity and he could be anyone at all. That thought alone made her nervous.

An hour and half later, class was over. Vanessa walked out and walked to the football field. She sat on the bleachers watching the football run drills and practiced plays. Looking closely, she saw Travis talking to his coach. Vanessa was far away to hear what they were saying. When they were finished talking, she saw the coach going back to the field and Travis walking up the stairs in the bleachers. Vanessa called out his name. Travis looked in her direction and immediately smiled. No matter what he was feeling, he could count on his girlfriend to make him feel better. He walked over to her.

"Hey baby!" Vanessa said.

"Hey honey." Travis replied. They kissed for a few seconds and then Travis suggested that they should walked around Gallagher for a little bit. Vanessa and Travis were walking close and holding hands.

"So what're you doing tonight?" Vanessa asked.

"I don't know yet." Travis replied.

"You want to spend time with me tonight?" As Vanessa said that, she added a flirty smile.

"Yeah, of course! What time do you want to do this?"

"Tonight at 8. I'll be waiting in the main area in my dorm building waiting for you. Don't be late!"

"I won't be. And if I am, I'll call in advance."

Vanessa looked at him and gave him a kiss on his cheek. Travis smiled and they continued to walk away, still holding hands. Unknown to them, someone was close by and heard about their plans. Tom looked up from his newspaper and threw it to the ground. He wasn't really reading it, he was just trying to be inconspicuous. He saw them holding hands and decided to follow them. He heard everything. Vanessa is going to be waiting for Travis at the main area of her dorm building tonight at 8.

"It seems I have a date tonight." Tom said in a dark tone.

The day past by really quickly and it was nighttime before long. Vanessa was laying down on the couch in the lounge area watching TV to past the time. She looked at the clock. It was almost 8 p.m. Vanessa was wondering were Travis was, when at that moment, someone had a hand on her side.

"Travis you stud you." Vanessa giggled at the touch. The hand move further north. "Hold on, cowboy. I'm not ready…" And that's when she sat up and looked behind her. It wasn't Travis, it was Scarecrow! Vanessa just stood there in frozen fear.

"_Hi, you want to get cozy?" _Scarecrow asked.

Vanessa screamed as loud as she could. She got up and tried to run, but Scarecrow tripped her before she could go anywhere. She started to scream again and lucky for her and bad luck for him, a security guard heard the scream and ran to help.

"Freeze!" he shouted. He drew his gun and aimed at Scarecrow.

"_Don't shoot! I surrender!" _Scarecrow pleaded. _"This doesn't have to turn into a big thing. I'll go peacefully._" He extended his wrists towards the guard. Vanessa and the guard couldn't believe it; the guard especially. Here he was, face to face with the murderer and he's giving up without a fight! This was too good to be true! He knew the protocol was to call for backup, but he wanted to do this by himself. He wanted to be well known for this! He grabbed his handcuffs from his belt and walked towards Scarecrow.

"You see," the guard said in a cocky tone. "This is my kind of villain. The one who knows when the jig is-"

Suddenly, in a blink of an eye, Scarecrow grabbed the guard by his neck and snapped it! There was a loud snap and the guard was dead before he could comprehend what happened. Scarecrow dropped him and turned in Vanessa's direction.

"_Don't think I've forgotten about you, my pretty." _Scarecrow said menacingly.

Vanessa screamed loudly again and started to run. Scarecrow chased after her. Vanessa didn't know what to do except don't get killed. She turned her head slightly and saw Scarecrow was still chasing her. Thinking quickly, she rounded a corner and grabbed a math book. She waited until Scarecrow was close. He turned the corner too sharp when BAM! Vanessa hit Scarecrow with the math book in his head as hard as she could! Scarecrow fell to the floor with a thud. Vanessa dropped the book and ran off. Scarecrow sat up and rubbed his forehead. He grabbed the math book that hit him.

"_I know math gives me a headache sometimes, but damn!" _he groaned and stood up. He threw the math book down and started to chase Vanessa again. Vanessa saw Scarecrow still chasing her so said ran to her room. She frantically tried to open the door. Scarecrow was right on her tail! At the last second, she opened the door and sprinted inside. Scarecrow got there in a heartbeat after the door closed. He heard the door locked. Scarecrow banged on the door, rattled the doorknob and yelling gibberish. Inside Vanessa was all by herself. She was scared out of her wits and started to cry. She kept hearing the noise and prayed that Scarecrow would go away. And just like that, the noise stopped.

Vanessa stopped crying long enough to notice this. Was Scarecrow really gone? Did he gave up and left? She went quietly to the door. She put her hand on the door. She was just about to press her ear to the door to listen when CRASH! A piece of wood shot right off the door! And then another! And another! Vanessa was extremely freaked out when she realized that Scarecrow didn't leave, he was still there and he was chopping down the door! Before long, there was a hole in the door and Scarecrow stuck his head through it.

"_Here's Scarecrow!" _he bellowed. Vanessa heard that and started to hide. She hid under her bed and grabbed some clothes to prevent Scarecrow from seeing her. Before long, Scarecrow broke down the door and stepped inside. He was holding the sharp ax that he used to chopped the door with and was walking around the room. He wondered she might've gone. He checked her closet. She wasn't there. He was going to look under the bed when he saw under there was a lot of clothes. Vanessa knew he was looking under the bed and tried not to breathe. Scarecrow stood upright. _"Vanessa." _He said in a threatening tone.

After standing there for a few minutes, Scarecrow left the room. Vanessa saw him leave. Knowing it could be another trick, she stayed under her bed for the rest of the night. She wished she didn't have to stay there, but she would rather be under her bed than 6 feet underground. Vanessa was too scared to go to sleep so she stayed up all night under her bed and also took note that she heard him say her name. The fact that Scarecrow may know her personally scared her to no end.


	14. Is Victor the Perp?

Later, on the same night, Capt. Barkley was sitting at his desk at the police station. He couldn't really concentrate on the paperwork in front of him until he gets a special phone call. Suddenly at that moment, the phone rang on his desk. He picked it up.

"Capt. Barkley talking." he said to the person on the line.

"Sir, this is the forensics lab. We got the test results back. We indentified the DNA."

"Well, who's responsible?" The scientist continued to talk as Capt. Barkley listened.

Back at Gallagher University, Travis was wondering were Vanessa was. He was late meeting her for their date because he couldn't find his phone. He searched around his room for several hours until he realized that he left it in his football locker in the gym. He continued to wait until he decided to look for her. He knew where her dorm was, so he started there.

Travis was turning left and right down the halls when he found Vanessa's dorm room. When he got there, he noticed that the door had been chopped down! "What the hell?" he said to himself. Travis stepped inside. "Hello? Vanessa?" he whispered. He looked all over the room. There was no sign of her. Just as he turned to leave, he heard the sound of someone crying quietly. Travis looked back and peeked under the bed. There were some clothes lying about under there. He threw some of clothes aside and he found Vanessa curled up in a ball, crying.

"Vanessa it's me, Travis." he said to the frightened girl. He helped her out of the bed and saw that she was pale in the face, sweaty and exhausted, and scared of her own shadow. "What happened?"

"S-S-S," Vanessa stammered.

"What?"

"S-S-Scarecrow. He was h-h-here and he was tr-trying to kill m-m-me."

"You can relax, baby. He's gone now. It's okay."

At that moment, Vanessa started to break down crying intensely and held onto Travis as tight as she could. Travis didn't know how to help her all that much, so he rocked her back and forth. He didn't want to leave her alone knowing Scarecrow could come back at any moment, he decided to stay with her for the rest of the night.

Meanwhile, at the station, Stephens got a call to report to Capt. Barkley's office. He too was curious about Scarecrow's true identity. When he got to the office, he saw that not only his boss was there, but The Dean as well. After Capt. Barkley was through talking to the forensics lab, he immediately called The Dean and Stephens to his office.

"So what do we have captain?" asked Stephens.

"I just got a call from the labs," Capt. Barkley began. "The DNA that was on Brian O'Reilly's body belonged to Victor Morrison."

"Victor Morrison?" The Dean asked. "Why would he do this?"

"We don't know. His hair was on the kid's body and his fingerprints were on the hammer that was used to kill him with."

"It's a shame though, I know Victor and there's no way he's responsible!"

"What should we do, boss?"

"As of right now, Victor is wanted for questioning. Let's all just go back to Gallagher, find Victor and make sure he's our man."

"That sounds like a good idea. But could we do this in the morning, though? I'm tired!"

"Okay. Let's sleep on this and tomorrow, we'll get the word out."

The next morning, everything appeared normal for everyone at Gallagher University. Well, aside from the murders and everything. Things looked normal enough for Amber. She wasn't present during Scarecrow's attack on Vanessa last night because her parents wanted her to spend the night at their house. At first Amber didn't want to, but she knew Scarecrow would most likely be prowling around the university and she didn't want to risk getting killed. At that moment, she was wondering how Vanessa was doing this morning.

Amber parked her blue van at a parking lot in front of the university and got out. While she walking to her dorm, she admired the sunrise. Usually when she gets up in the morning, she watches the sunrise. It's just something she likes to do. Amber was walking inside her residential building, whistling a little song to herself. When she got to her dorm, she stopped whistling. She saw that her door was chopped down! Amber stood there in shock and cautiously stepped inside.

She started to hear someone crying around the corner. She walked around the corner and saw Vanessa, still holding Travis as tight and close as she could, and crying softly.

"Travis, what happened here? And why is the door gone?" Amber asked.

"Scarecrow did this," Travis answered. He sounded angry when he said this. "He almost killed Vanessa. He busted down the door to get to her."

"Oh my god." Amber went over and gave Vanessa a comfort hug as well.

"Man, when I find out who this Scarecrow guy is, he's going to wish he never did this!"

Just then the intercom blared on the loudspeaker. The feedback was so loud the students could wake up in an instant. "Attention Gallagher University! This is The Dean speaking. I have just found out that we have a lead on Scarecrow's true identity. If you see this person do not, I repeat, do NOT approach him. Dial 911 immediately. His name is Victor Morrison. If anybody has information, dial 911 immediately! That is all."

The 3 students heard the emergency announcement. For a few minutes, nobody said a word. Travis was the first to speak.

"So it was Victor all along. Wait till I get my hands on him."

25 minutes earlier, Tom was sneaking out of Victor's dorm room. In order to make all investigations towards Victor to escalate, he needed to do more framing. He hoped this plan would work entirely. He was walking to the cafeteria to grab a biscuit for breakfast. He got one and started to walk back to his own dorm.

"Oh man." Tom thought. "This whole killing and framing isn't an easy job. But it'll make everyone's lives more interesting. You know what? Compared to Daniel, Edward and Brian, Victor got off easy. I didn't kill him, but he should be lucky. Not to mention Vanessa. She gave me the slip last night, but her time will come. Victor, Victor ,Victor. If my hunch is correct, he should be waking up right about…now."

Back at Tom's room, in his closet, Victor was starting to stir. He tried to talk, but he couldn't. He tried to move, but he couldn't. And that's when he realized he was bound and gagged. Panic started to seep in as Victor started to breathe heavily and started to sweat. It was dark where he was and he didn't even know where he was.

Just then, the door opened. Victor had to close his eyes since his eyes haven't adjusted to the sudden light. When he opened them, he saw Scarecrow looming over him. Victor screamed but the sound was muffled because of the gag in his mouth.

"_Relax Vic," _Scarecrow said. _"If I wanted to kill or even hurt you, you'd be in pain right now." _Scarecrow wasn't in a killing mood as of right now he was talking to Victor as if he was discussing how his day has been. Purely conversational. Tom didn't even know why he put on his Scarecrow costume. Maybe it's because sometimes Tom feels naked without it or he wants to intimidate Victor. Victor looked at him uncertainly.

"_It's been a hell of a few days, huh? I know it's been a blast. And I know you've already figured this out, but I'm responsible for everything that's been going on lately." _Scarecrow took off his mask and Victor saw Tom with a crazed smile on his face. Victor was scared when he saw Tom's face with that grin. Tom put the mask back on. _"You and Brian were right. I'm the mastermind behind this flimflam. But that knowledge cost you dearly dude! You guys were getting to close so I put a 'contract' on you both. I handled it myself. I killed Brian with a hammer the other night, but I wanted to keep you around a little longer. I bet you're wondering why right?"_

With supernatural timing, the intercom came on. "Attention Gallagher University! This is The Dean speaking. I have just found out that we have a lead on Scarecrow's true identity! If you see this person, do not, I repeat, do NOT approach him. Dial 911 immediately. His name is Victor Morrison. If anybody has information, dial 911 immediately! That is all."

Scarecrow was at first scared about his identity was revealed, but when The Dean said Victor's name, he was relieved. He turned to Victor, who also listened to the announcement, was crying to himself. _"Boom." _Scarecrow said to Victor. _"In case you didn't get it, after I killed Brian and knocked you out, I got some of your hair and planted it on Brian's body and I rubbed your hands on the hammer I used to kill him with. And as a bonus, I made a replica of my mask and I planted it in your room! It's only a matter of time when the cops find you and you're going to jail for murder!"_ Scarecrow began to chuckle manically. _"And by the way, thanks for your dorm key." _He dug in his pocket and took out Victor's key and threw it in his lap. Scarecrow looked at his clock. It was almost 9. _"Well it's been great talking and all, but I got to go. I got more carnage to create. Toodles!"_ he closed his closet as Victor screamed as loud as he could. Scarecrow opened the door again. _"Oh I forgot something. This is to make you be quiet again." _He jabbed a 30ml syringe into Victor's vein in his arm. Victor yelled and then, he started to drift off to sleep again.

Scarecrow looked at Victor then he closed the door. Scarecrow started to change identities and he was Thomas Barkley again. Tom changed into some everyday clothes and walked out of his dorm. If everything went according to plan, he wouldn't have to worry about anything ever again.


	15. Tussling with Travis

Tom was walking outside enjoying the fresh air. He never felt this good. He knew he had to go to some classes today, but he just didn't feel like it at all. He walked towards the courtyard when he saw his best friend Katie sitting at a nearby table. Tom took note that she had a worried look on her face. He did a quick smirk on his face and then he replaced it with a friendly smile. He walked over to Katie's table.

"Hey Katie. What's wrong? You look like something's bothering you." Tom noticed.

"I just can't take it anymore Tom," Katie confided. "First, there were several students who just got killed; then we learned that Scarecrow is the killer and now, I heard on the announcement that Victor Morrison is Scarecrow! I can't handle the stress. I'm moving out of Gallagher University. I'm going to live with my Mom and Dad."

"You are? Do they live in the city nearby?"

"Yeah. You don't have to worry about me moving away to like Maine or someplace like that, Tom. I'll still be in the area and I still want to be in your life. You're my best friend." She gave Tom a smile.

"Thanks Katie." They gave each other a hug. Katie was loving this moment and she didn't want to let him go. It felt so good to be in his strong, loving arms. "So, when are you going to start packing?" Tom asked as they broke apart the hug.

"I'm not doing anything right now. Do you want to help me pack now?"

"Sure." Together the two friends walked side by side to Katie's dorm. Meanwhile, Travis and Vanessa were still together in Vanessa's room. Amber was there too, but she had to go to an early morning class. Travis looked at his watch. It was almost noon. He knew all the football players had to meet the coach on the field to practice more plays, but he didn't want to leave Vanessa alone again.

"Vanessa, I have to go. Coach wants all the players on the field for more practice." Travis said.

Vanessa stared at him. She didn't want him to go; she wanted him to stay with her for a little while longer. But she also knew that he was the main player. Without Travis, the football team doesn't stand a chance. "Okay, but right after practice, come back all right?" Vanessa looked at him with a pleading look.

"I'll come straight back. I promise. I love you."

"I love you too." They hugged and kissed and Travis started to pull away. Vanessa clung onto him for a few moments; then afterwards she reluctantly let him go. She watched him leave and she decided she didn't want to be left alone in her room. Vanessa grabbed some of her things and left her room to go outside.

Tom and Katie were inside Katie's room packing up her things. She had a decent amount of clothes, pictures of her friends and family and among other things. There were several empty boxes around her room. While he was helping Katie pack, Tom couldn't help but feel a little bit guilty. His murderous alter ego had caused Katie, his best friend, to move out of Gallagher University. If Scarecrow and Katie were to cross paths, he wouldn't have hurt her. She was the only person kind to Tom and she didn't deserve to be forced out. But Tom's darker side was thinking with Katie gone, the plan would be in full force. Katie noticed Tom being distracted.

"Tom, are you okay?" she asked.

Tom snapped back to reality. "Yeah I'm fine. Just fine."

"You know you could tell me anything that's on your mind, right?"

"I know. Really Katie, I'm okay."

"All right then." They continued to load more stuff into the boxes. About a half hour later, they were done. "Well that's everything. Let's load all of this to my car." Tom and Katie grabbed several boxes and walked towards Katie's van. Her van was a mixture of blue and green. Tom didn't know the exact color, but he thought it looked nice. They put some stuff into the back seat of the van and then went back to the room to get more stuff. On the 2nd trip to the van, Tom was getting a little slow with the boxes.

"These boxes need to take off a few pounds." he said in a joking/sarcastic manner.

Katie giggled at the comment and continued walking. They finally reached the van and Tom was tired. Katie loaded the rest of the boxes in the van. After she was done, she sat down next to Tom.

"Thanks for helping me out Tom." Katie thanked.

"No problem, anytime." Tom replied.

They just sat there, sitting down and enjoying each other's company. Katie was certain that if she was away from Gallagher, Scarecrow wouldn't come after her. She was also praying that he didn't know where she lived or if he knew her personally. She was also worried about Tom still being here. Katie knows Tom could take care of himself, but what if someone happened to him? What if Scarecrow severely injures or kills him? Katie stood up and was walking towards the driver's door. Tom followed.

"How long are you going to stay, Tom?" Katie asked.

"I'm just going to stay. I don't think I have anything to worry about."

"How do you know Scarecrow wouldn't come after you?"

"Oh, I know he wouldn't." Tom said in a low quiet voice.

"What was that?"

Tom realized he said that last part a little too loudly. Katie must have super sharp hearing or something. "Nothing Katie. I'll be okay."

Katie took a mental note of how he just said that. Tom said he was fine in an apprehensive tone, like if he was worried about something. "All right. Just promise me you'll be careful."

"I promise." Katie gave Tom a meaningful hug. At this moment, all she wanted was to make sure Tom was safe from harm. Katie looked up at him. She wanted to ask Tom something important. She tried to the other day, but she was interrupted by The Dean on the intercom.

"Tom, can I ask you something?" Katie asked.

"What is it?" Tom wondered.

"When all this blows over, I was wondering," she paused for a few moments. "Will you…" Suddenly her cell phone rang. She looked at the caller ID. It was her Mom. "Excuse me," she answered it. "Hello? Hi Mom. What? I know, I'm on my way home. Okay. Okay. Bye-bye." She hung up. "I got to get going. I'll call you later, Tom." She stared into his eyes and gave him a tender kiss on his cheek. Tom smiled at the action and Katie smiled back. She got into her van, started the ignition and drove off.

While she was driving, she was talking to herself. "What is up with these damn interruptions? I was going to make my move, but why is something stopping me? I got this planned over and over. How hard is this? 'Tom I want you to know that I really cherish our friendship and I want to be more than friends. I want to be your girlfriend. Will you go out with me?' Maybe this isn't a good time to ask him. His ungrateful ex dumped him, went out with his best friend and there's several murders around the university. Oh well. When Scarecrow is captured, I'll ask the question. No matter what happens, I'll always love you Thomas Barkley." She smiled at the mere mention of his name and continued driving towards her parents' house.

Tom still stood at the spot where Katie's van was parked. He stood there for a few moments and he walked off. He wondered what he should do today. He saw the football stadium and decided to sit in the bleachers for a while. He sat on the highest level and he saw the football team on the field, doing some plays. Tom saw Travis out there toughing it out. And at that moment, Tom knew what he was going to do. He got up from the bleachers and ran back to his dorm. When he got there, he looked briefly at his closet door and then went to his bed. Tom put his hands under his bed and pulled out the small, black suitcase. He opened it and saw his Scarecrow costume. Tom did a high-pitched, fast giggle and closed the suitcase.

He carried it out of his room and went to the locker room next to the football field. He set it down and saw Travis talking to the coach. He couldn't hear exactly what they're saying, but Tom could make out that he wanted Travis to stay a little bit longer after the other teammates left. Tom took his suitcase and hid in a bathroom stall. He opened his case and put on the costume. _"Now I play the waiting game." _He said in his Scarecrow voice.

While Scarecrow was waiting in the locker room, Coach Nick Jones was drilling his players on certain routines. He was sure if they practice these routines a few days a week, nothing could stop them in the championship. He blew his whistle. "All right everyone. Good practice. I want everyone to be back here in a few days and do some more plays. Hit the showers!" All the players immediately ran off the field and into the locker room. Coach Jones wanted Travis to stay a little bit longer to talk to him. He lowered his voice to speak a little bit softer so no one could hear them. "Linderman, I noticed you're being a little bit distant. Is there something wrong, son?"

"My girlfriend was attacked by Scarecrow last night and I'm just worried about her." Travis admitted.

"I see. If you're that worried about her, suggest that she move out or something. I'm all for compassion and all. I really am. But I can't have my players being distracted too much. You're my best footballer, don't lose that title, understand?"

"Yes coach."

Coach Jones smiled and gave him a playful pat on Travis' back. "Good, you got a good heart Linderman. I'll see you later." Coach Jones stayed on the field while Travis went into the locker room. When he got there, it reeked with the smell of sweat. But the good news is he was glad none of his teammates was still in there with him. Travis got out his radio and listened to some songs. While he was showering, he heard a noise.

"Hello?" he called out. No one replied. Travis shrugged it off and continued showering. BANG! He heard that sound and jumped. He didn't want to finish his shower anymore. He turned off the water and got dressed. He heard another thump coming from one of the stalls. He got up walked towards it. He kicked the door opened saw no one in there. He was getting to turn around and leave when Scarecrow punched him in the back of the head!

Travis fell close to the toilet. Scarecrow straightened him up a little bit, then he dunked Travis' head in the toilet! _"Swirly, swirly, swirly!" _Scarecrow flushed the toilet. Travis gurgled and then he felt himself being thrown towards the wall. He cleared his vision so he could get a good look at his attacker. He saw Scarecrow ready to take him down.

"I know it's you behind that mask, Victor!" Travis said.

"_When I'm done with you, you'll wish it WAS Victor!" _Scarecrow boomed.

"What do you mean by that?" Scarecrow didn't reply so he just charged at Travis. At that moment, Spiderbait's song "Black Betty" started playing from Travis' radio. It seemed liked it was the appropriate fight song. While it was playing, Travis blocked Scarecrow's charge and punched him in the face. Scarecrow faltered but continued to attack. Travis went for another punch, but Scarecrow dodged and he bit Travis on the neck! Travis screamed as Scarecrow head butted him as hard as he could. Travis sunk to the ground.

Scarecrow got up and walked several yards from him. _"You know, football wasn't really my sport. I'm more into…baseball." _He pulled out his knife from his pocket and pretended he was a pitcher. He threw the knife into Travis' right shoulder! Travis screamed really loud, but the song droned out his scream. Travis was feeling a little bit woozy. He looked at his wound and he saw that he was losing blood. Scarecrow walked over to him and yanked the knife out. Travis laid down on the floor. _"Traitor."_ Scarecrow whispered into his ear. Travis opened his eyes and stared into Scarecrow's eyes. Travis had a weird feeling that Scarecrow knows him, but before he could ask, he closed his eyes and laid back down. After looking at Travis for a few more minutes, Scarecrow went into a stall, changed out of the costume and Tom came out and casually left the locker room, leaving his ex-best friend for dead.


	16. Stephens Starts to Sleuth

Back at the police station, all the officers were hard at work doing various things. Whether they be personal things or problems to help the community. Near the middle of the station, Stephens was sitting at his desk. He couldn't believe all that has happened recently. He just got a call that another student at Gallagher has gotten attacked by Scarecrow. Stephens can't comprehend as to who is doing all this. Even though the evidence pointed towards Victor Morrison, he still doesn't think things don't add up. At that moment, Stephens knew what he must do. He's going to do some detective work.

He got up from his desk and walked towards Capt. Barkley's office. He saw the door was closed, so he knocked on the door. Capt. Barkley looked and saw Stephens at the door. He motioned him to come in.

"Sir, I'm going to go out and about. Just doing some routine patrols." Stephens said.

"Okay, but be gone too long. I need everyone here to be on their toes." Capt. Barkley stated. He looked at Stephens and sighed. "Just be careful."

"Yes sir." Stephens turned and left the office. He walked out of the station and got in his police cruiser. He started the igition and drove out of the station. When the station got the call about the student's encounter with Scarecrow, he couldn't figure out the name of the poor kid. He got out his cell and dialed The Dean's number. It ranged twice and The Dean answered.

"Hello?"

"Dean, it's Stephens."

"Oh, hey Stephens. Not that I'm mean or anything, but why did you call?"

"I just gotten word that somebody was attacked by Scarecrow not that long ago. Could you give me some more information?"

"Yeah. The student's name is Travis Linderman. He's the linebacker for the football team."

"Yeah I've seen him on the field. He's great!" Stephens got a little unfocused but he remained in officer mode. "Is he all right?"

"I don't know yet. He was bleeding pretty bad when they found him. One of the players came back to the locker room to get something and found Travis lying there passed out."

"Which hospital is he at now?"

"St. Mary's on Madison Ave. What are you doing, Stephens?"

"I'm going to get some questions out of him. Maybe he knows something that could help us out."

"Okay. Good luck man." The Dean hung up and Stephens put the phone back in his pocket. Then he made a hard left and sped his car to Madison Ave. In no time, he found St. Mary's and parked his car. He got out and walked towards the front entrance. He saw the receptionist and walked over to her.

"Hello. May I help you?" she asked.

"I'm looking for Travis Linderman. I heard he's admitted to this hospital. Do you know what room he's in?"

She checked her patients book. "Let's see…here it is. He's in room 263 on the second floor."

"Thanks." Stephens walked towards the elevator and pressed the up button. It took a few minutes but the elevator came down and the doors open. Several people came out. When they were all gone, Stephens stepped inside. He pressed 2 and the doors closed and the elevator rose. In no time, he a small ding and the doors opened. He got out and went to talked to a nurse at the desk. She had red hair, glasses and had a welcoming, caring personality. Her nametag read Nurse Gale.

"Excuse me, miss?" Stephens asked. "I'm looking for Travis Linderman. Do you know where exactly he is?"

"Yeah, I'm his nurse. I'll show you his room. Follow me." They walked down the hallway and found room 263. Stephens peeked inside and saw Travis lying down on his bed. He was sleeping and had an oxygen mask over the lower part of his face. Stephens also saw that he had a huge bandage on his right shoulder. "You can wait here, I'll get the doctor. He can tell you more." Gale took one last look at Stephens, smiled a little bit and left. He noticed that Gale gave him a smile before she left. Either she was smiling because that was her job or maybe she liked him. Stephens thought about that, but he'll think about that later.

Stephens sat down in a chair next to Travis' bed and stared at him. He noticed that Travis was barely breathing. Sometimes he wondered if Travis is even alive. When that thought happens, he looked at the heart monitor. As long as it's not flat lining, he's okay. Suddenly an older gentleman walked into the room. He had a grey moustache, a little bit shorter than Stephens, and it always looked like he was sad, even on days he wasn't. He walked in and saw Stephens sitting down.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm Officer Stephens." He got and shook the man's hand.

"I'm Dr. Powell. I'm this kid's doctor."

"All right. So what's the diagnosis?"

"Well, he was stabbed pretty damn deep in the shoulder region. We got him into surgery in the ICU. He lost a lot of blood."

"Is he going to be okay?"

"He's going to make it, but there's bad news."

"What?"

"The wound was through the rotating socket in the shoulder region. The knife went clear through and the surgery has weakened it. I don't think he'll ever have full motion on his right shoulder again."

"So does that mean he'll never play football again?"

Dr. Powell stood there. He bowed his head and shook it slowly. Stephens couldn't believe it. Gallagher University has lost its star player. And just before the big game, too. "How's Travis taking it?" Stephens asked.

"He doesn't know yet. I'm going to let him sleep. When he wakes up, I'll tell him."

"Did he say anything about what happened to him?"

"Well he was rambling about a Scarecrow attacked him and for some strange reason, he had a weird feeling that it knew him."

Stephens took that information in. Could Scarecrow know Travis personally? He continued to think about this. He took one last look at Travis, thanked Dr. Powell and walked out into the hallway. Gale saw Stephens walking towards her. As he walked by, she called out to him to come back soon. Stephens turned around and saw Gale smiling. She turned and went back at her post.

He saw her walk away. "Maybe she does like me." he thought to himself. He didn't bother to try the elevator, so he took the stairs. He walked out of the hospital and got to his car. He peeled out of the parking lot. As he was driving, he decided to see Farmer Brown. After all, it was his Scarecrow. Maybe he could shed some light. Stephens drove past some building and in no time at all, he saw Farmer Brown's house. He parked his car in front of his house, got out and knocked on the door. Farmer Brown opened it up.

"Hey Stephens!" he said. "What's going with you?"

"Hey Jack. I'm just here to try to solve this murder mystery. Would you happen to know anything about your Scarecrow and as to why someone would take it?"

Farmer Brown stood there and started to think. "Well, I don't think anybody would want that thing. In fact, nobody even bothered with it, except me and Tom."

"Tom? Thomas Barkley? Why would he be interested in it?"

"He's been talking to it ever since he was little. I didn't understood why, but I didn't want to ask him. All I know is that he says he's a good listener."

"Is that so?" Stephens started to make some notes in his notebook that he brought with him.

"Stephens, you don't think that Tom has anything to do with the theft and the murders, don't you? He's a good kid!"

"I'm just trying to figure this all out before someone else gets killed, okay? Now is that all you know about Scarecrow?"

"I know he does a good job scaring away the birds."

Stephens rolled his eyes on that comment. "Thanks Jack. I'll be in touch." He turned and left Farmer Brown looking confused on what just happened. Stephens got inside and decided that he would talk to Melissa about Tom and, if he's lucky, talk to Tom if he's there. He drove his car to Tom's house. He parked his car and knocked on the door. A minute later, Melissa opened the door.

"Hello Melissa. May I come in to ask you some questions?" Stephens didn't beat around the bush. He got straight to the point.

"Sure; yes." Melissa stepped aside and ushered him to the couch. He sat down and she sat beside him. "What's going on, Stephens?"

"I'm trying to investigate the Gallagher murders and I was wondering maybe Tom could answer some questions I have for him. Is he here?"

"He was here earlier, but he left to do something. He wouldn't tell what he was doing and where he was going though. And he seemed pretty strange about it too."

"Didn't that bother you at all?"

"No, not really. In fact, when he was little, he used to play "secret agent" all the time. It because of those James Bond movies he watched all the time." She smiled at the memory.

"Interesting." Stephens opened his notebook and wrote down notes.

"Stephens, what are you implying? That my son had anything to do with this?"

"No, but I'm just trying to figure this all out. Murders around Gallagher, A football player gravely injured and a missing Scarecrow that he talks to."

"Travis is in the hospital?"

"Yep. Thanks for your help, Melissa." Stephens got up and walked out the door. Melissa called out to him.

"Don't be accusing Tom of anything without proof!"

"I know Melissa." Stephens got into his car and drove off. As he driving, he got out his phone and called The Dean's number again. The Dean answered.

"Yeah."

"Dean, it's me again."

"Stephens, what is it?"

Is Tom at Gallagher right now?"

"No. I haven't seen him in a while."

"Does he ever hang out with anybody?"

"I have seen him with a girl occasionally. Her name is Katie Bates. I think she's his girlfriend, but I'm not entirely sure."

"Is she at the university?"

"No, she's at her parents' house. She was so scared about being a victim that she moved out."

"Where do they live? I want to try to get to the bottom of this."

The Dean gave Stephens Katie's address and he thanked him. They hung up and Stephens did a U-turn and drove into the city. He took several turns and about 20 minutes later, he found Katie's house. He got out and walked towards the front door. He rang the doorbell. He waited and an older man answered. He was a fairly good-looking guy in his early 40s, with somewhat orange hair and looked like he was rich, even though he's middle class. His name is Philip Bates; Katie's father.

"Hello officer. May I ask why you're here?" Philip asked.

"Sir, I'm officer Stephens. Do you mind if I asked your daughter a few questions?"

"Come in, Stephens." Philip escorted Stephens to the living room and he sat on the couch. Philip left to get his daughter. While he had the time to himself, Stephens looked around the living room. There were several family photos, some fine china in a glass cabinet and the window had white, lacy curtains. Katie walked into the living room and saw Stephens sitting down. He saw her, got up and introduced himself.

"Katie, my name is Stephens. I don't know if you know me, but I'm Capt. Barkley's partner. I was on the scene when we discovered Daniel Kolley's body a while back."

Katie thought for a second. Then her expression brightened. "Oh yeah. I remember you. What's wrong?"

I want to ask you some questions. Their mostly about your boyfriend, Tom. Have you seen him lately?"

Katie was lost for a few moments when Stephens labeled Tom as her boyfriend. She dreamed of that moment of bliss for a while. But then she got pulled back to reality. "He's not my boyfriend and no I haven't seen him since I moved out from Gallagher."

"Has he been acting strange recently? Was he close to the victims?"

"What happened?"

"Travis Linderman was attacked by Scarecrow."

Katie was shocked to hear the news. "Oh my God. Is he all right?"

"He's recovering in the hospital. He'll pull through if he takes it easy."

"That's good. Well he used to be friends with Travis. They don't talk anymore though."

Stephens started to get curious. "Really? What happened to their friendship?"

"Travis went out with his ex-girlfriend, Vanessa. He was majorly pissed and hated the very sight of him. He never spoke to him again."

Stephens made a quick note on his notebook and wrote down the key elements on what Katie said. "Hmm. What about Vanessa?"

"I'll just sum it up. She dumped him for Travis, Tom was pissed, end of story."

"Where's Vanessa now?"

"I think she's still at Gallagher, but I don't think she'll be there long after her ordeal the other night."

"What do you mean?"

"Scarecrow tried to kill her, but she actually fought back and survived. I heard she hid under the bed for the rest of that night." Katie did a small smile.

Stephens wrote another note. "What about the victims?"

"I don't know about Daniel. Tom beat him in a dance-off at a party. I don't think he had a personal grudge against him. Edward, I don't know about him either." Katie stopped and looked at Stephens. "Are you saying that Tom is Scarecrow? It's been confirmed that Victor's the perp! Do you have him?"

"No. We haven't found him yet. I'm just curious Katie. Did Tom had a grudge against Victor?"

Katie sighed. "Well, he and Brian were accusing him of being Scarecrow and blaming him for the murders. But just because he doesn't like them, that doesn't mean he did it."

Stephens wrote something else down. "I'm thinking Victor was framed. I'm thinking Scarecrow killed those kids and placed the mask and weapons in Victor's room. I'm not saying Tom's responsible, but according to these notes I got from Farmer Brown, his mother, and you; it looks like he has the motive."

"But Tom's my best friend. I just can't believe this!" Katie started to sob.

"I'm not saying this to make you upset, Katie."

"I'm not in the mood to talk anymore. Could you please go?" Katie got up and walked upstairs. Stephens stood in the living room for a few more moments and he walked out the front door. He got into his car, but he didn't drive away just yet. He looked at his notes.

"Let's see." Stephens said to himself. "Several students are dead. Brian and Victor accused Tom for being the killer, Victor is implied to be Scarecrow, Farmer Brown said Tom occasionally talked to his Scarecrow and it winds up missing, Melissa said Tom's acting strange lately, Travis is in the hospital, and Vanessa was attacked by Scarecrow. It's a long shot, but I got to tell the captain about this."

Stephens started his car and drove back to the police station. When he got there, he was debating whether to share this information to Capt. Barkley or not. He's Tom's father and odds are he wouldn't believe him, but he also remembered that Capt. Barkley said to all the officers; If they had any information about the Gallagher murders to see him immediately. Stephens had that in his mind so off he went to his boss' office.

Stephens knocked on his door. He waited a few moments before coming in. Capt. Barkley sat at his desk. "What is it?"

Stephens closed the door. "Sir, I did some Q&A with some people and I may found out who's behind these killings."

"Really? Who is it?"

Stephens looked a little nervous, but he pressed on. "I think that maybe Tom's behind the Gallagher killings."

Capt. Barkley just stared at him. His stare wasn't overall angry but his expression was a little dark. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, I asked the people close to him about him. Look at these notes I took. He had the motive! He sometimes talks to Farmer Brown's Scarecrow, then it's missing, A Scarecrow is killing students, Vanessa dumped Tom for Travis, Scarecrow attacked Vanessa, put Travis in the hospital, Brian and Victor accused Tom for the murders and I think that Victor was framed and Tom's the one responsible!"

"Just stop." Capt. Barkley said that in a tone so dark and cold that it made Stephens stopped on a dime. "I don't believe this nonsense. Just get out of my office, Stephens."

"But sir, I just thought-"

"How dare you think that my son is Scarecrow! Unless you have hardcore evidence that he did it, other than these notes, I don't want to hear it! And if I do hear about this again, I'm taking your badge! Am I clear?"

Stephens was stunned by the Captain's outburst. He was sure that Tom's behind all this, but he knew better than to talk back to his boss. "Yes sir."

"Good. Now get out of my office." Stephens took his notebook and walked out of Capt. Barkley's office. While he was walking away, he heard a thud coming from the office. He looked out of the corner of his eye and saw his boss with his elbows on his desk, covering his face with his hands. Stephens got back to his desk and sat down. He put his notebook in a drawer. He felt a tear forming in his right eye. It rolled down his cheek. Stephens sat down slouching, thinking he never should've said anything. Not only that Scarecrow is still on the loose, but his job and his friendship with Capt. Barkley are on the line.


	17. Amber's Last Swim

It was late in the afternoon and Amber was just lying down on the couch in the main part of her dorm building. Ever since Scarecrow chopped down the door of her and Vanessa's room, she didn't really feel safe going back, even though she wasn't there when Vanessa was attacked. Amber was flipping channels trying to figure out what to watch. At that moment, her swim coach, Paula Quincy, was walking by when she saw Amber on the couch.

"Amber, can I talk to you about something?" Coach Quincy asked.

Amber turned around and acknowledged her. "Sure coach. What's going on?"

"Like I told you before, you need to bring your swim times down. So a little later today, would you mind going into the pool and getting some practice in?"

"Am I going to be by myself in the pool?" After what happened with the murders, Amber doesn't want to be alone anywhere.

Coach Quincy knew what Amber was thinking so she answered her thoughts. "Don't worry. I will be there with you while you're swimming. So you don't have anything to fear."

After she heard that, Amber felt relieved. "Okay. I'll be there."

"Okay. I'll see you at the pool at around 7 p.m." Coach Quincy left the area leaving Amber alone. Knowing she was alone, Amber didn't want to be by herself. Since Scarecrow was seen prowling around the university, almost all students that attend Gallagher had either transferred to other colleges or moved out. There were a decent amount of students still there, but regardless it still made Amber feel kind of creeped out. She got out her cell phone and decided to call Vanessa. She dialed her number and waited for her to pick up. After a few rings, she answered.

"Hello?" Vanessa began.

"Hey Vanessa. It's Amber."

"Hey. Are you doing anything right now?"

"Not really. Why?"

"Would you mind being here with me while I'm visiting Travis? Neil's also here, but I want a bigger group here. There's safety in numbers, you know?"

"Yeah I understand. Okay. I'll join you."

"Great! Thanks! We're at St. Mary's on Madison Ave. His room is 263. We'll see you there. Bye-bye."

"Bye." They hung up and Amber gathered her things and left the dorm area. When she got outside and noticed that the sun was going down. Even though it wasn't sunset yet, it looked liked it was. By the time she got back, it'll probably be dark. Amber found her car, got in, started the engine and drove out of the parking lot.

10 minutes earlier, unknown to Coach Quincy and Amber, Tom was listening in on their conversation. He heard everything he needed to hear. Quincy wanted Amber to meet her at the pool at 7 p.m. and that Amber was going to visit Travis in the hospital. Tom had mixed feelings about Travis' predicament. If Travis had died, it wouldn't matter to Tom that much because Travis was one of people on his hit list and on a side note if he did die, he wouldn't have suffered the pain that he and Vanessa caused him. On the other hand, Tom did wound him severely in the right shoulder and odds are he won't be playing football ever again. One way or the other, Tom got what he wanted.

Tom soon saw Coach Quincy walk out of the building and a little later, he saw Amber walk out. Since he knew Amber was going to the hospital, he decided to follow Coach Quincy. In other for the next part of his plan to commence, he needs to get Quincy out of the way. Tom doesn't have a vendetta against Coach Quincy, but he doesn't want her to ruin everything. He silently followed and stood a decent distant behind her. After walking across the courtyard and several walkways, Coach Quincy went inside a building. Tom followed inside shortly after. He was inside the main office building. Most of the faculties have offices inside. If he was lucky, Coach Quincy must be going to her office. Tom saw her walking down the hall and quietly followed. In no time, he saw her go inside a room. Tom had deduced that the room she went into was her office. He creeped up to the door and pressed his ear to the door.

Quincy was in her office trying to make a call to her husband. After a few tries, she finally contacted him. "Hey it's me. Listen I'm going to be a little late getting home. One of my swimmers need to practice." She paused. "Okay. I'll be home as soon as I can later. I love you. Goodbye." She sighed and hung up. She walked to her door and opened it. She locked her door and walked away. Tom peeked out from around a corner and saw her leave. He went to her office and waited. After Quincy turned a corner towards the exit, Tom went to work. He grabbed a paper clip from his pocket, straighten the clip and started to pick the lock. It wasn't easy but after a few tries, he broke the lock and opened the door.

Tom walked inside and quietly closed the door. He had a plan to get Quincy out of the way, but in order for it to work he needed to know what her car looked like. Make, color and where it is parked. He looked around her office for any clues. He searched her drawers and found nothing. Just when he was about to give up, he saw a piece of paper on the wall. He looked at it closely and realized it was the very thing he was looking for! What was it? A receipt reminder about Quincy's brake repair. It displayed the problem, what they did to repair it, the total cost and the make and model of the car. Tom smiled with glee and took the receipt from the office. He walked out and decided to wait out the time by searching for her car. His watch said it was 5:30 and he has only an hour a half to find her car. Tom groaned and got to work.

On the other side of town, everybody was at St. Mary's visiting Travis. He recently woken up and gotten the terrible news from his doctor. He was extremely broken hearted and angry at Scarecrow for causing this tragedy to befall him. Amber, Neil and Vanessa were already there and they were trying their best to cheer him up.

"I can't believe this." Neil said in a sad tone.

"So what do we do now?" Vanessa wondered.

"We're going to pray that the police catch Scarecrow and Victor will go to jail." Amber said.

"I don't think Victor is behind all this." Travis said. 'When I was attacked in the locker room, Scarecrow said to me, 'When I'm done with you, you'll wish it was Victor.' If it was Victor why would he say that?"

"Maybe to throw you off?" Vanessa wondered.

"Why haven't the police been able to find him yet?" Amber asked.

"It's either because he skipped town, hiding out, or maybe he's probably dead." Neil remarked.

"Trust me when I say this," Travis said with confidence. "Victor and I are going to have some words. But I'm still not entirely convinced that he did it."

"I have to agree with you, Travis." Vanessa agreed. "When I was attacked, Scarecrow said my name. I don't think Victor knows me that well."

"But if it isn't Victor, then who's doing this?" asked Neil.

As they were all wondering about Scarecrow's true identity, Amber looked at the wall clock. It said 6:30. "Well, it's been great seeing you all, but I got to get back. I'll see you guys in the morning or tomorrow or whatever." Everybody said goodbye to Amber as she walked out of Travis' hospital room. Amber walked out of the hospital and got into her van. She started it up and left the parking lot.

Meanwhile, Tom was still walking around Gallagher University, still looking for Quincy's car. He looked at his watch and it said 6:40. If he doesn't find it soon, his plan would be foiled. He saw a tan car near a pole. Tom looked at the receipt and then the car. He smiled and was positive that he found her car. Now he just needed to call her up. While he searched her office earlier, he also found her cell bill with the cost and her cell number on it. "Why does she keeps her bills with her?" he wondered. But he didn't care. Tom got to a nearby phone booth and dialed her number. She picked up.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hello." Tom said. He changed his voice to make it sound official. "My name is Officer Norton and I was doing some patrols and I discovered that you're parked in an illegal parking spot. If you don't come and move it, it will be towed and you'll receive a fat fine!"

"Okay. I'll be right there as fast I can!" Quincy hung up and Tom stood there in the booth, holding the phone.

"Sucker." he said in his normal voice. Amber was just reaching the entrance to Gallagher when it was a few minutes to 7. She parked her van and walked towards the pool area. While she was walking, she ran into Coach Quincy walking towards her.

"Coach, where are you going?" Amber asked.

"I got a call from a police officer. He said I parked my car in an illegal spot. I'm going to move it and I'll be back at the pool."

"Okay. But don't be too long." Amber replied. They walked in their separate directions. Tom saw Quincy walking towards her car from the phone booth. He quietly got out and pulled out a syringe from his pocket. As he was creeping up behind her, Quincy saw and noticed that the officer wasn't here. She also noticed that there wasn't even a parking ticket. She was going to go back when Tom jabbed the syringe into her neck! She screamed but no one heard her. She began to lose all feeling and fell to the ground. Tom got into her pocket and grabbed her car keys. He opened the door, stuffed Quincy in the back, covered her up with a blanket and locked the car up. Now he was free for the next part of the plan.

Amber was walking down to the pool but first she needed to change into her bathing suit. She went into the locker room. Tom followed, but before he went inside, he went under the staircase and found his small, black suitcase. He opened it and put on his Scarecrow costume. He also grabbed something else out of the suitcase. Scarecrow sneaked towards the door and opened it. He sneaked inside and hid behind a corner. Amber was on the far side and she couldn't see him, but he can see her.

He was thinking about making his move, but he decided against it. Amber was getting undressed and Scarecrow was silently watching. While he was watching, his eyes grew bigger and he started to think about the song, "Hey Sexy Lady" by Shaggy. Scarecrow had always considered Amber to be a pretty, interesting woman even when he was dating Vanessa, but he kept that part to himself. Before long, Amber was into her swimsuit and began to walk out of the locker room. Scarecrow was still crouched behind the corner. _"Whoa!"_ Scarecrow said with a smirk. He locked the entrance to the locker room and crept silently into the pool area.

Scarecrow saw Amber on a small blue pedestal getting ready to do some laps. She dived off into the pool and began to swim. Scarecrow sneaked to the blue pedestal and crouched behind it. Amber continued to do laps back and forth in the pool. She swam back to the pedestal and leaned on the pool's edge. She closed her eyes, catching her breath for a little while. When she opened her eyes, she got the shock of her life. It was Scarecrow lying down with his face just inches from hers!

"_Boo!"_ Scarecrow shouted.

Amber screamed right as Scarecrow grabbed her neck and dunked her underwater. She screamed and gurgled, but she couldn't break Scarecrow's intense grip._ "Hmm, what's that, honey?" _Scarecrow taunted. _"No, I'm sorry I can't hear you; you'll have to speak much louder!"_ As her last resort, she pulled Scarecrow in the water with her. He released his grip as he fell into the water. That little opportunity gave Amber a chance to escape. She struggled to get out. Suddenly, Scarecrow grabbed her ankle and fastened a thick, black device around her ankle. After he was done with that, he pulled her back into the pool.

Amber fell back in. She tried to swim back to the surface, but then she realized that she couldn't. That thing that was wrapped around her ankle was an ankle weight! She screamed as Scarecrow pulled her backup to the surface. Amber coughed furiously as she stared into his eyes. _"One more thing," _Scarecrow said. _"Don't hold your breath. It'll just make things worse." _With those words, he let go of Amber's hair. She gasped and started to slowly sink to the bottom. She screamed and gurgled, but only bubbles came out of her mouth. She finally hit bottom and tried to struggle against the weight, tried to take the weight off, but she wasn't strong enough. She could feel life ebbing out of her. She struggled one last time.

Scarecrow was just laying on his stomach, elbows on the floor and his hands supporting his head. He just laid there watching Amber's drowned body underwater. _"You know,"_ he said to no one in particular. _"There's something about a girl underwater that just makes you want to stare at her all day. I got a few minutes to kill, so I'll do just that!"_ Scarecrow laughed and continued to stare at the lifeless body.


	18. Revelations

Vanessa was still at St. Mary's visiting Travis. Neil left a few minutes ago, saying he had to go back to Gallagher to do some stuff. Vanessa was sitting in a chair next to Travis' bed trying to think of something to say. She was relieved that he survived Scarecrow's attack but he's injured in the shoulder so bad that he can't play football ever again. She couldn't even look at the giant bandage on his shoulder without crying. Travis looked at the clock. It said 9 p.m. At that moment, Nurse Gale came into the room.

"I'm sorry to say this, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave. Visiting hours are over." she said kindly but firmly.

Vanessa didn't want to leave. Not only that she didn't want to go back to Gallagher, but she didn't want to leave Travis. Knowing she was thinking the same thing he was, he tried to soothe her nerves.

"Don't worry honey. I'll be okay." Travis assured.

"Okay, but I still don't want to be at Gallagher anymore." Vanessa admitted.

"Well, you could always move out temporarily. Just until Scarecrow is captured; That's what almost all the students are doing."

Vanessa had to give Travis credit for that idea. Even though sometimes he may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, he can sometimes come up with some good ideas. "Okay, I'll go back to Gallagher to pack up and I'll move in with my parents. I love you." She started to smile.

Travis smiled back. "I love you too babe." They kissed and Vanessa had a little hard time breaking the hug. She finally worked her way out of his arms and walked out of his room. She didn't want to wait on the elevator, she took the stairs instead. She walked out of the main entrance and found her red jeep wrangler. She got in, started the engine and drove out of the parking lot. She drove back thinking about the whole moving situation. She wanted to get away from the murders, but she didn't want to be away from Amber, her best friend and roommate. She remembered that she left to do more laps in the pool, as usual. Vanessa wanted to say good-bye to her before she moves out.

20 minutes later, she drove up the roadway leading to Gallagher University. She drove to the parking spots in the halfway point between the pool and her dorm building. She parked her car and got out. Vanessa walked across the courtyard towards the building. She went inside and walked down to the entrance to the girl's locker room. She grabbed the doorknob and tried to open it, but it's locked.

"That's weird." Vanessa said to herself. "I thought Amber had to come down here to swim? I'll try calling her." She got out her cell and dialed Amber's number. While her phone was ringing, she could her Amber's cell faintly ringing inside the locker room. When she didn't pick up, Vanessa knew right away something's wrong. "Oh my god." she said quietly. Vanessa looked around for any kind of keys to get inside. She went to the gym teacher's office and found an extra set of keys in a drawer. She ran back to the door and tried the keys. 4 keys later, she found the right key and ran inside.

Vanessa looked around saw Amber's clothes and heard her phone ringing in her pants pocket. She stared and looked around the locker room. Amber wasn't in the shower and not in the stalls. The only place she could be is the pool. She opened the door leading to the pool and looked around. The whole room was empty and there was no sign of Amber. Vanessa sighed and wondered her best friend could be. She looked down and found Amber at the bottom of the pool!

"Amber!" Vanessa screamed. She instinctively dove into the pool and swam to the bottom. She tried to get her to the surface, but she couldn't. Vanessa looked at her ankle and saw she was wearing an ankle weight. She tried to remove it, but she had some difficulty. She just got angry and ripped it off Amber's ankle! The weight dropped and Vanessa carried Amber back to the surface.

Vanessa coughed and breathed heavily. She swam to the side and hauled Amber up first. She then got out and tried CPR. She tried it once and nothing. She tried it again and nothing. She tried one last time and still nothing. Vanessa laid Amber down and started to break down crying. She shouldn't have let Amber leave alone. She should've been there for her. Vanessa held Amber's hand. "Rest well, best friend." she said in a tender tone. She gently laid her hand down and walked out of the pool area. She continued to cry and then she ran out of the locker room. Vanessa wanted to both alert a teacher that another student has been murdered and to get the hell out of here. She ran up the stairs and bolted out the doors. She's now outside. She ran towards her jeep wrangler when she got smacked in the forehead!

Vanessa fell to the ground and rubbed her forehead. She looked up and saw Scarecrow standing over her. _"Hello sweet thing," _Scarecrow said in a suave voice. _"Remember me?"_

Vanessa was scared when she saw him, but she gained a tiny bit of courage. "You! I take it that you killed Amber?"

"_Yeah. Do I get a kiss as a reward?"_

"You listen to me. You'll never get away with this!"

"_Oh don't worry my sweet. Since you miss Amber so much, you'll be joining her shortly!" _Scarecrow then took out his knife and pointed the blade towards her. Whatever courage Vanessa had flew right out the window. She took off running towards her jeep and Scarecrow was hot on her heels. Vanessa tripped halfway, but she quickly got up and continued to run. She got into her jeep and locked all the doors. Scarecrow tried to open the doors but they're locked.

Vanessa saw Scarecrow trying to break in. She felt a little safe. Then for some reason, Scarecrow stopped trying to break in and just stood outside the vehicle. She was wondering why he's just standing there, but she didn't really care. She dug into her pocket for her keys, but they weren't there. "Oh man!" Vanessa shouted. "Where are the keys?" As if on cue, Scarecrow used his knife to tap "Shave and a Haircut" on the window. "What?" Vanessa answered bitterly.

"_Looking for these?"_ Scarecrow replied in a taunting tone. He lifted up his left hand to reveal he's holding Vanessa's keys!

"How did you get those?" she asked worriedly.

"_They fell out of your pocket when you fell back there. Bottom line, you're not going anywhere."_ Then, Scarecrow pointed his finger out as if he were pressing a button and he slowly crouched down as if he was in a elevator. Vanessa crawled over but she couldn't see where he went. She started to sweat a little bit and she got out her phone and dial 911. "Hello. My name is Vanessa Ramirez and I attend Gallagher University. Please send cops, Scarecrow is trying to kill me!" Suddenly her back door window crashed and Scarecrow dove in! He grabbed a wire and began to choke Vanessa with it! Vanessa gagged as she tried to struggle against the wire.

"_Why don't you love me, Vanessa? I treated you right and this is how you thank me? I'm so going to enjoy this." _Scarecrow flashed a sinister smile and continued to strangle her.

Vanessa heard what he said and realized right then and there who Scarecrow really is. She tried to break the wire but no prevail. In a last attempt, she reached for her nail file. She picked at the wire and she broke free! Scarecrow flew backward and fell on the floor. Vanessa got out and started to run. Scarecrow started to pursue when he heard sirens. He saw 2 police cars heading straight for him. He knew he was in for it now.

In the police cars, Capt. Barkley and Officer Stephens were in one and a couple of policemen were in the other. The cars stopped and Stephens darted out and charged at Scarecrow. "Your reign of terror ends now!" he yelled and tackled Scarecrow to the ground. Stephens punched him in the face and Scarecrow poked him in the eyes and threw him to the side. Capt. Barkley saw his partner being thrown and charged towards Scarecrow. He immediately stood Scarecrow up and did a powerful uppercut on him. Scarecrow flew backwards and fell down. Capt. Barkley walked to Stephens.

"Are you okay?" Capt. Barkley asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Stephens replied. He was rubbing his eyes when he saw something that made him excited. "Captain, his mask flew off!"

Capt. Barkley looked over the direction and saw the mask. He got up and walked to Scarecrow. He grabbed him really hard. "End of the line Scarecrow." he said confidently. He turned him over to see his face and got the shock of a lifetime. He was holding Thomas Barkley, his only son! Tom did a high-pitched screech as his father held his shirt. "No…it can't be." Tom punched Capt. Barkley off and stood up. Stephens walked to his boss and saw Scarecrow unmasked. He was surprised, but not too much.

"_Hey dad, how's it hanging?" _Tom said causally. Even though he's unmasked, he's still talking in his Scarecrow voice.

"You're responsible for the murders here?"

"_Yeah, pretty much. It was all me, but it was child's play."_

"Why did you do it?" Capt. Barkley was breaking down at this point.

"_Why? WHY! I'll tell you why! Because it's all Travis and Vanessa's fault! She dumped me for the typical jock and everybody at this whole damn university kept rubbing it in! 'Vanessa's so lucky to be dating Travis, Hey Tom, you've just been dumped!' and all that other nonsense! It drove me nuts! And it's because of that, I'm making everybody pay by starting this killing spree and soon, I'm going to after The Dean and take over this pathetic little university!" _Tom started laugh maniacally.

Capt. Barkley couldn't believe this. Tom's planning on killing The Dean next! "You'll never get away with this, Tom!"

"_Stop calling me that! I'm Scarecrow! And if you think I'm not going to get away with this, tell that to ole' Vickie Morrison. You wouldn't believe how easy he was to frame."_

Capt. Barkley was startled. "Victor was framed?"

"_Duh! Once again, it was all me, but small potatoes."_

Stephens was watching and listening on the conversation and couldn't believe what Scarecrow is saying. "Where's Victor?" he demanded.

"_Now how should I know, Stephens? I don't know that much about Victor. He could come out of the closet for all I know!" _Tom started to laugh.

Capt. Barkley never took his eyes off Scarecrow. "Stephens, you and the others get The Dean and all of you find Victor." he demanded in a stern tone.

"Yes sir." Stephens replied. He and the 2 policemen ran off towards The Dean's office leaving Capt. Barkley alone with Scarecrow.

"If you're going to continue with this plan, Scarecrow or Tom or whatever the hell you want to be called. You're going to have to go through me!"

In one swift move, Tom put on the mask. He then grabbed his wrists and pulled out knives he had hidden in his sleeves. He threw the knife in the air in his right hand. It spun in the air and he caught in perfectly back in his hand. _"Don't mind if I do." _Scarecrow said insanely. He started to walked towards his father.

Capt. John Barkley stood there as Scarecrow walked towards him. "If I by any chance live through this," he thought to himself. "He is so grounded."


	19. Father Vs Son

Scarecrow lunged towards his father, holding the knives in his hands. Capt. Barkley noticed and he dodged the attack. Scarecrow missed, but he continued to swing wildly. Capt. Barkley got lucky and dodged all attacks. But the last swing, he wasn't so lucky. He felt a sharp pain in his stomach and looked down. He saw the knife blade went through his stomach. John winced as he grabbed Scarecrow's hand and removed the knife. He pushed Scarecrow away and felt his wound. It wasn't critical, but there was blood. John took a moment to stare at Scarecrow.

"You don't have to do this." John said, trying to reason with him.

"_I have an idea," _Scarecrow offered. _"If you don't want to fight, you can join me. Think about it dad. You and me, Barkley & son, we would be magnificent together! Interested?"_

"You got to be crazy if you think I'm going to help you with this. You know damn well I'm an honest cop! And I will go to great lengths to stop people like you!"

"_And how do you plan to do that? If you throw me in jail it won't make any difference. I'll just be out and about in about a week or so. The other option to stop me is to kill me and we both know you're not going to do that. I'm your son, your only child, and it will destroy your mind, body and soul if you kill me. That's right, I'm untouchable. I love being a son of the chief of police! Besides, if something happens to me, who would entertain these pitiful students?"_

"Aw, who are you kidding! You don't care about Gallagher and its students, you were just trying to save your hide! That's why you framed Victor in the first place!" John was furious.

Scarecrow shrugged it off. _"Potato, potato. Once you're out of the way, my plan will commence!"_

John charged forward, kicked the knife out of Scarecrow's left hand and punched him as hard as he could. Scarecrow fell backward and fell to the ground. He got up just in time to see John kick him in the chest! Scarecrow fell back down. John picked him up and dragged him to a pole. He rammed his head into the pole and then with great force, John threw Scarecrow into a low wall. Scarecrow stumbled over the wall. He got back up and leaned over the wall. _"Looks like I have to kill him." _ He said to himself quietly. He realized he doesn't have his knife, but he managed to grab another weapon unknown to Capt. Barkley.

John saw Scarecrow look around and he said with confidence, "Hey! Lose something?" he held up Scarecrow's knife.

Scarecrow saw his knife. _"Yeah. I lost one weapon, but I gained another!" _He then held up his father's gun!

John looked surprised. "How did you get that?"

"_When you grabbed me and threw me towards the wall, I grabbed your gun at the last second. But don't worry about that, since you won't join me, you can just die!"_ Scarecrow pulled the trigger and shot John in the lung area! John screamed and fell down. Scarecrow walked over his fallen father and stood above him. He just stared at him and then, he shot him in the heart! John flinched and then he just laid back. Scarecrow just stood and stared. And then, he started to dance. _"Do the Scarecrow, do the Scarecrow!" _he said with crazed glee. And he continued to dance around his fallen father.

Meanwhile, The Dean was just packing out his belongings. He decided to quit his job. At that moment, Stephens and the 2 officers burst into the office.

"Dean!" Stephens said. "We got some…" at that moment, Stephens noticed the boxes around the office. "What're you doing?"

"I'm leaving Gallagher University. I can't handle all this death and carnage. The parents are blaming me for all that's happening here. I quit."

"You don't have to quit! We figured out Scarecrow's true identity and Victor Morrison is innocent!"

The Dean was relieved when he heard the news. "All right! Who is he?"

"That's not important right now. What's important right now is you need to come with us and help us find Victor!"

"But I don't know where he is."

"Neither do we." Stephens, The Dean and the officers started to think about where Victor is. Stephens started to think extra hard. "Maybe something Scarecrow said would give us a clue." He started to think about what Scarecrow said. "He remarked that he doesn't know Victor that well and he could come out of the closet for all he knows."

"Was that supposed to be a insult towards Victor?"

I don't know." Stephens continued thinking. "Closet…closet…" And then, Stephens had a breakthrough. "I think I know where Victor is!" he said excitedly. "Do you have your master key?"

"Yeah, it's right here in my pocket. Why?"

"I think he's in a closet somewhere on campus! I'm leaning towards Tom's closet. Let's go!" Stephens led the group out of the office.

Meanwhile Scarecrow was still dancing in the courtyard. He just shot his father and now he's doing a victory dance. He danced back to the spot where he saw that his father's body had disappeared! Scarecrow growled and stopped dancing. He took out the gun and walked around the area.

"_What's the deal, man?" _Scarecrow yelled. _"You were supposed to die and I was supposed laugh, sing and dance! And then afterwards, I was supposed to kill The Dean and make this university mine! I know what'll get you to come out. Marco!" _Scarecrow paused. _"You're supposed to say 'polo'!" _Scarecrow sighed and sat down on the lowered wall he flew over earlier. _"You're really starting to piss me off, daddy-o!"_ Suddenly, someone tapped on his shoulder. Scarecrow turned around and was greeted by a strong kick in the face! Scarecrow groaned and fell face first to the ground. He looked up and saw his father, Capt. John Barkley standing over him. _"What the hell, man? I shot you!"_

John rolled his eyes and pulled up his shirt. "Shooting me while I'm wearing a bulletproof vest won't get you any points. For someone who's the son of a police captain you sure are brainless!" He then started to chuckle.

Scarecrow did a low growl. _"Now you're dead!"_ he bellowed. He sprung up and bit John on the nose! John screamed and poked Scarecrow in the eye. John felt his nose. He was bleeding more than the wound on his stomach, but once again the wound wasn't deadly. John ran back to the low wall and found his gun. He picked it up and looked at it. He didn't want to do this, but he had to protect the students. He secretly reloaded his gun. Scarecrow charged at him. Suddenly, John pointed his gun at Scarecrow and shot him numerous times in the torso!

Scarecrow screamed bloody murder and fell down with a thud. John didn't let his guard down, so he walked over towards Scarecrow, still pointing his gun at him. When he got closer, he saw Scarecrow barely breathing. John took off his mask and saw Tom just staring at him, very vulnerable. _"Daddy…" _ he whispered weakly. John felt a tear forming in his right eye. He held Tom's hand as Tom closed his eyes.

Meanwhile The Dean, Stephens, and the officers were at Tom's dorm room. "What makes you think that Victor is here?" The Dean asked.

Stephens opened up the closet door. He looked inside and saw Victor bound and gagged. His skin was as pale as a ghost and he was in bad shape. "Does this answer your question?" Stephens asked. The Dean looked inside.

"Call an ambulance right now!" The Dean ordered. And in no time, the 2 officer radioed the station for backup and medical services.

Back at the courtyard, John was still holding Tom's hand. He laid it down gently and started to walk away. He was almost at the tables when suddenly he heard a noise and turned around. He saw Tom sprang up and sprinting towards him. He was also yelling nonsense gibberish, had a wide-eyed look and flashed his teeth. He was within striking distance when John grabbed a nearby trash can lid and slammed it into Tom's head! The impact of the lid knocked Tom immediately unconscious before he even hit the ground. John walked over to him, breathing heavily.

"How did he survive the stream of bullets?" he wondered. He looked at Tom's shirt and lifted it up. John saw that Tom was wearing a bulletproof vest too! "Like father, like son." John said to himself.

10 minutes later, the sounds of sirens filled the air. More police cars and an ambulance came. The medics went inside Tom's dorm building and then carried out Victor in a stretcher. He was loaded inside and was on his way to St. Mary's. "Victor should be okay." Stephens said to The Dean. "If you'll excuse me, I have to check up on a friend." Stephens walked to the courtyard and saw Capt. John Barkley sitting at a table. Looking around, he saw Scarecrow tied to a nearby pole. Stephens walked over to his boss. "Are you okay, sir?"

"I'm bleeding in the stomach and nose area, but I'll live." Capt. Barkley replied. Did you find Victor?"

"Yeah, he was found tied up in Tom's closet. He's being transported to St. Mary's. I think he'll be okay." He turned towards Scarecrow's direction. "So, what're we going to do with him? We can't place him in a holding cell at the station. He's too dangerous to let around the other inmates."

"Well, there's no way in hell I'm giving him the chair."

"I understand. He's really taking this whole break-up thing pretty bad. I think all he needs is for someone to talk to, you know?"

Capt. Barkley thought about what Stephens just said. He walked over to Scarecrow. His eyes were closed; he's still knocked out. He held Scarecrow's face with his fingers. "I know what to do with him."


	20. The End?

1 month later, everything was getting back to normal at Gallagher University. Well close to normal anyway. The students who moved out came back and all the other students who were locked inside their rooms came out again. The Dean is still running things. When parents and families were feeling uneasy and scared about people attending Gallagher, The Dean assured them that the Scarecrow menace has ended and he won't be coming back here again.

At the courtyard, Vanessa was sitting at the table with her boyfriend, Travis. He checked out of St. Mary's recently and is doing fine despite his shoulder injury and the fact that he can't play football anymore. They were sitting at the table discussing their near deaths.

"I still can't believe that Tom was behind all these killings." Vanessa said.

"Yeah," Travis agreed. "And to think that he used to be our friend."

"Well, at least he won't be bothering us or anyone else ever again!"

"Do you know where he is now?"

"I don't know. But who cares? At least you're alive and I'm alive and we have each other. I love you Travis." She smiled at him.

Travis smiled back. "I love you too." He over to Vanessa's side of the table and kissed her fully on the lips. His hands around her waist and her hands around his neck. Travis winced a little bit. "Easy on the shoulder, babe." Vanessa giggled and continued to kiss him.

On the other side of town, Katie was lying down on her bed. Like everybody else, she heard about Scarecrow's true identity and was completely devastated. When she found out, she just stayed up in her room for a long time. She sat up and walked over to her dresser. She grabbed a photo and looked at it. It was a picture of her and Tom sitting on a low wall in the courtyard at Gallagher. Katie started to cry quietly to herself. She couldn't come to the terms that her best friend, Tom Barkley, was the murderous Scarecrow. Even though he acted strange around her, she still couldn't believe it. She walked to her window and looked out. The weather was decent despite it was cloudy.

"Tom," she said quietly to the sky. "I know you can't hear me, but I just want to say this to you. Why did you do all this? Has this whole break-up thing screwed you up that bad? I know what Travis and Vanessa did to you really bad, believe me I know, but you didn't have to kill people or tried to kill them. Now I don't know what to do now. I'm in love with you, even though you're a murderer. But no matter what happens to me, I'll always be your friend. And I pray that you'll be all right wherever you are."

After Katie was finished, she lied back down on the bed. She still had the picture of her and Tom. She looked at it again and she put it on the nightstand. She took off her glasses and went to sleep.

At the police station, cops were busy going about their business as usual. Stephens was at his desk doing some paperwork when another officer came to his desk. He had blond hair, 5'10, blue eyes and a charming personality to him. His name is Officer Feldman.

"Hey Stephens," Feldman called. "Capt. Barkley wants to see you in his office, pronto."

Stephens was surprised. "Did he say what for?"

"No. but it has to be important. You should go now."

Stephens got up from his chair and left his desk. As he was walking, he wondered what Capt. Barkley wanted. In no time he got to his boss' office. He knocked on the door and he went inside.

"Come in Stephens. Close the door and sit down." Capt Barkley ordered.

Stephens did what he was told. He closed the door and sat down in a chair directly in front of Capt. Barkley's desk. Stephens took note that the captain has a bandage on his nose when Scarecrow bit him. He also took notice that his tone was serious when he was talking. "Remember when you accused my son of being Scarecrow?"

Stephens remembered. He didn't want to be reminded about that. Regardless, he answered. "Yes."

"And that I didn't want to hear it? And if I do hear about it, I would take your badge in a heartbeat?"

"Yes sir."

"Well, that's why I called you in here. You have been working for me for about 10 years. I took you under my wing and I showed you the ropes. And we also became best friends both professionally and personally. Regardless, it's time for a change of things." He held out his hand. "Please give me your badge."

Stephens was shocked to hear him say those words. He knew not to bring up the Scarecrow issue again. Scarecrow's true identity was now known and Capt. Barkley himself knew that his son was responsible! He knows that now, but why did he want his badge? Stephens didn't argue though. He dug into his pocket and took one last look at his badge. It was a bronze badge. Worn out a little bit because it was in the sun too long. He handed it to Capt. Barkley. He took it and put it in a drawer.

But he wasn't finished. He seemed to be looking for something else. He found what he was looking for and put it on the table. He slid it towards Stephens. Stephens was curious and picked it up. He opened the flap and saw it was a shiny silver badge and under it was the word, 'Sergeant'. Stephens was shocked and looked at his boss.

"With the rank of sergeant, you get to command anybody of an equal or lower rank. You rise in the ranks and you could be lieutenant and one day when and if the time comes, a Captain." Capt. Barkley explained. After he was finished, he smiled. "Enjoy your new rank, Sergeant Stephens."

Stephens gasped and smiled. "Thank you, sir! I'll wear the title proudly."

"And I'm sorry I flew off the handle with you while you were investigating the matter. You do understand why, right?"

"Yeah, I mean if you accused someone in my family of being a murderer, I'd be angry too."

"Glad to see we're on the same page. Are you doing anything after your shift?"

"Well, I'm going to visit Gale at St. Mary's. She was Travis' nurse and she really does like me."

"That sounds good. I don't mean to push you away, but I got more work to do."

"Okay." As Stephens turned to leave, he can't help but ask, "Sir, I'm just curious, but whatever happened to Tom?"

"Let's just say he's going to be looked after by top men."

"Who?"

Capt. Barkley narrowed his eyes and spoke in a low voice. "Top. Men. Let's just leave it at that, Stephens."

"Yes sir." Stephens turned and left the office. Capt. Barkley sat at his desk and looked at his family photo of himself, his wife Melissa and his son, Tom. "Top men indeed." He said to himself.

100 miles north of Gallagher University, There was a building. It looked scary and has a creepy feeling to it. This building was Scales Asylum. It had a plague that said, 'Resting the emotionally disturbed since 1883.' Inside the building, there were people yelling, screaming and talking to themselves, but they were inside their rooms. In a cell down the hall, it was housing a new member, Thomas Barkley, lying down and was wearing a straight jacket. Tom was just lying there and then, he started to have a sinister grin on his face and was supporting a look that said…_this isn't over._

**THE END?**


End file.
